japanese approaches to organizational internationalization

Japanese Approaches to Organizational Internationalization of Universities:

A Case Study of Three National University Corporations

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADAUTE SCHOOL

OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY

Yuki Watabe

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

John J. Cogan, Advisor

Joan G. DeJaeghere, Co-advisor

April 2010

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A journey of pursuing a Ph.D. and completing this dissertation would never be

achieved without the support of many others.

First, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to my advisor, Dr. John J.

Cogan. Without his tireless encouragement and wisdom, I would not complete this

journey or believe in myself to continue to pursue further adventures. My sincere

gratitude also goes to my co-advisor, Dr. Joan J. DeJaeghere for her critical perspectives

and guidance that always helped me explore the issues further.

Thanks are also due to my committee members, Dr. Arthur Harkins, Dr. Jean

King, and Dr. Stuart S. Yeh, who provided insightful input to enrich my dissertation

journey.

My research would never be realized without the participation of faculty and staff

members at the three universities I studied in Japan. I would like to thank all of the

individual participants at these three universities for their kindness to make time for

interviews and their willingness to share their perspectives on the internationalization of

their institutions. On the condition of anonymity, I cannot share individual names here,

but my deep gratitude goes to the three intermediaries at these universities for their

generous assistance and understanding as I conducted this research.

I also would like to thank my editor and writing instructor, Sheryl Holt. At the

beginning of my graduate student life, I took her academic writing and presentation

courses for non-native English speakers which helped me understand the logic of English

academic writing and helped me develop the skills to convey the meaning of my thoughts

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in English. I am grateful that she worked with me on the final product of my graduate

work.

My Ph.D. journey, which was sometimes lonely and gloomy, was brightened by

my sincere CIDE fellows. Learning and sharing this experience with them was a true joy

in this journey. Many thanks to them for their support and friendship. Furthermore, this

journey would never begin if I did not meet my dearest friend, Karen Zuffante Pabon,

who introduced me to the field of international education and guided me to pursue a

career as an international educator. I am grateful to her for sharing her passion for the

field with me and developing our on-going friendship.

Finally, my greatest gratitude goes to my loving family, my father Noboru, my

mother Katsue, my brother Tatsuji, and my partner Tom Trenka. Without their

unconditional love, tireless support and firm belief in me, I would not come this far. I

dedicate this dissertation to you. Arigato.

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ABSTRACT

This study aims to develop an understanding of the internationalization processes

at universities in Japan by exploring a strategic model in internationally oriented

universities. Universities in Japan have experienced university reform since the 1990s.

The role and system of Japanese universities have been re-examined due to an emerging

global knowledge society and a decrease in the domestic traditional student population.

Thus, internationalization has been recognized as a concern in the current aim of

university reform.

This study explores how and why three exemplary national university

corporations have been internationalizing by focusing on the configuration of

organizational design, program strategies and contextual factors. It examines how these

three exemplary universities have changed their administrative systems to implement

selected internationalization initiatives based on their own internationalization strategies.

The processes they have engaged in are explored from the perspective of senior leaders,

faculty, and administrative support staff who have been in positions involved in the

decision-making process of institutional internationalization efforts.

This study was designed to portray the process of internationalization in each

university’s unique context along with the organizational characteristics of the individual

case analyses. It then identifies the common elements of the internationalization process

across the three studied universities. Finally, five common elements are presented as a

strategic model that could help Japanese universities become more internationally

oriented. The five elements are: (1) the development of a deliberate internationalization

strategy, (2) the selection of internationalization initiatives: distinctiveness, accessibility

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and English capacity, (3) a top-down and expertise-oriented steering core, (4)

professionalization in international exchange and education, and (5) the matrix structure

for internationalization activities.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. i ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1

Problem Statement ...........................................................................................................1 Significance of Study .......................................................................................................6 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................7

Research Questions ..........................................................................................................8

Definitions of Key Terms ................................................................................................8

Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................10

Methodology ..................................................................................................................11

Assumption ....................................................................................................................12 Organization of Thesis ...................................................................................................13

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................15

Social Changes and Emerging Challenges for Japanese Universities ...........................15

Evolution of Definition of Internationalization of Higher Education ............................23

Globalization ..............................................................................................................24

Definition of Internationalization in the Higher Education Field ..............................29

Japanese View of Internationalization: Kokusaika ....................................................36

Studies on Organizational Internationalization ..............................................................41

Theory of Organizational Adaptation and Internationalization Process ........................46

Universities as Open Systems ....................................................................................47

Organizational Adaptation .........................................................................................50

Development of Conceptual Framework to Examine Configuration of Organizational Design for Internationally Oriented Universities ..................................54

Analysis of Contextual Factors ..................................................................................54

Selection of Internationalization Strategies ...............................................................56

Selection of Technology ............................................................................................59

Changes in an Administrative System: Organizational Structure, Management Process and Participants .............................................................................................68

Discussion ......................................................................................................................75 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................78

Selected Strategy of Inquiry and Rationale ...................................................................78

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Case Study .................................................................................................................81

Research Design ............................................................................................................86

Multiple-case Design .................................................................................................86

Participant Selection ..................................................................................................86

Data Collection Methods ...........................................................................................91

Conceptual Framework Guiding this Study ...............................................................93

Research Protocols .........................................................................................................95

Data Collection Procedures ........................................................................................95

Coding and Data Analysis Procedures .......................................................................96 Quality of Research Design in Case Study ....................................................................99 Researcher’s Role ........................................................................................................102

Issue of Translation ......................................................................................................104 CHAPTER IV: INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON AT OLD TEIKOKU UNIVERSITY..................................................................................................................105

Brief Tradition and History ..........................................................................................105

Chronicle of Internationalization .................................................................................106

Objectives and Rationale for Internationalization .......................................................113

Internationalization Initiatives .....................................................................................120

Research ...................................................................................................................120

Education .................................................................................................................124

University Branding .................................................................................................132

Change in Administrative System ...............................................................................134

Dominant Coalition for Internationalization Planning ............................................136

Structure for Managing Internationalization Activities at the Central Administration Level ...............................................................................................141

Coordination between the Central Adminisrative System and Colleges .................144

New Actors for Internationalization ........................................................................147

Old Teikoku University’s Process of Internationalization ..........................................152 CHAPTER V: INTERNATIONLAIZATION PROCESS AT FUKUGO UNIVERSITY..................................................................................................................154



Objectives and Rationale of Internationalization .........................................................162


Research ...................................................................................................................170

Education .................................................................................................................174 University Branding .................................................................................................182

Change in the Administrative System .........................................................................184


Structure for Managing Internationalization Activities at the Central Administration Level ...............................................................................................190

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Coordination between the Central Administrative System and Colleges ................195

New Actors for Internationalization ........................................................................197

Fukugo University’s Process of Internationalization ...................................................203 CHAPTER VI: INTERNATIONALIZATION MOVEMENT AT TANKA UNIVERSITY..................................................................................................................206



Objectives and Rationale of Internationalization .........................................................212


Research ...................................................................................................................219

Education .................................................................................................................224

University Branding .................................................................................................230 Change in the Administrative System .........................................................................231


Structure for Managing Internationalization Activities at the Central Administration Level ...............................................................................................238 Coordination between the Central Administrative System and Colleges ................242 New Actors for Internationalization ........................................................................244

Tanka University’s Process of Internationalization .....................................................248 CHAPTER VII: FINDINGS OF CROSS CASE ANALYSIS ........................................251

Global Competition as Japan’s Leading Research-oriented University ......................252

Development of a Deliberate Internationalization Strategy ........................................254

Two Approaches to Develop an Internationalization Strategy ................................255

Linking the internationalization Strategy to Overall Institutional Strategic Planning ...................................................................................................................266

Selecting Internationalization Activities: Distinctiveness, Accessibility and English Capacity .......................................................................................................................269

Top-down and Expertise-oriented Steering Core for Internationalization ..................274 Professionalization in International Exchange and Education ....................................282

Matrix Structure for Internationalization Activities ....................................................290 Summary ......................................................................................................................293

CHAPTER VIII: DISCUSSION ......................................................................................294

A Strategic Model to Develop a Deliberate Internationally Oriented Universities in Japan ............................................................................................................................294

Development of a Deliberate Internationalization Strategy .....................................296

Selecting Internationalization Activities: Distinctiveness, Accessibility and English Capacity ...................................................................................................................303 Top-down and Expertise-oriented Steering Core for Internationalization ..............307 Professionalization in International Exchange and Education .................................310

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Matrix Structure for Internationalization Activities.................................................313 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................315

Implications of Study ...................................................................................................317

Gap in the Government Policy on Internationalization: International Education ....317

Need of Further Professionalization in the Field of International Exchange and Education .................................................................................................................319 National Regulation of Higher Education in the International Context ..................321

Future Research ...........................................................................................................322 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................324 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................336

Appendix A: Four Models of Internationalization Components and Indicators .........336 Appendix B: Internationalization Initiatives Proposed by MEXT between 1983 and 2003 .............................................................................................................................345 Appendix C: A List of MEXT Policies on Internationalization of Universities .........349 Appendix D: A List of Documents ..............................................................................352 Appendix E: Internationalization Indicators for Document Analysis .........................353 Appendix F: Interview Questions ................................................................................356 Appendix G: Research Design: Conceptual Framework, Research Questions and Interview Questions .....................................................................................................360 Appendix H: Invitation Letter for Interview ................................................................364 Appendix I: Consent Form for Interview ....................................................................366

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Internationalization Strategies and Institutional Characteristics: Summary of Findings of the HEIGLO study ..........................................................................................57 Table 2 Characteristics of 19 Universities Selected for a Governmental Initiative of International Strategy Offices ............................................................................................88 Table 3 Basic Information on Three Studied Cases...........................................................89

Table 4 Interview Participants at the Studied Universities ................................................90

Table 5 Emerged Concepts based on the Conceptual Framework for Individual Case Analysis..............................................................................................................................99 Table 6 Trend of International Exchange Agreements at the University Level ..............110

Table 7 Trend of International Exchange Agreements at Department Level ..................111

Table 8 Trend of International Visiting Scholars ............................................................111

Table 9 Trend of Academic Staff Studying Abroad ........................................................112

Table 10 International Faculty Statistics..........................................................................112

Table 11 Trend of the International Student Population ..................................................112

Table 12 International Graduate Programs ......................................................................124

Table 13 Double Degree Programs ..................................................................................126

Table 14 Study Abroad Programs ....................................................................................128

Table 15 Members of the Office of International Exchange Strategy (OIES) in August 2008..................................................................................................................................137 Table 16 Trend of International Exchange Agreements at the University Level ............159

Table 17 Trend of International Exchange Agreements at the Department Level ..........160

Table 18 Trend of International Visiting Scholars ..........................................................160

Table 19 Trend of Faculty Studying Abroad ...................................................................161


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Table 23 Double Degree Program ...................................................................................176

Table 24 Study Abroad Programs for Domestic Students ...............................................179

Table 25 Members of the International Strategy Headquarters (ISH) in August 2008 ...188

Table 26 Trend of International Exchange Agreements at the University Level ............210

Table 27 Trend of International Exchange Agreements at the Department Level ..........210

Table 28 Trend of International Visiting Scholars ..........................................................211

Table 29 Trend of Faculty Studying Abroad ...................................................................211




Table 33 Study Abroad Programs for Domestic Students ...............................................228

Table 34 Members of the Council of International Strategy (CIS) in August 2008 ........234

Table 35 Main Objectives and Initiatives of Internationalization at Three Studied Universities ......................................................................................................................257 Table 36 Directors of the International Student Center at Three Studied Universities ...286

Table 37 Modes and Models of the Development of Internationalization Strategy ........301

Table 38 Integrated Internationalization Strategic Planning ...........................................303

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Diagram of Universities as Open Systems in the Context of National and Global Societies Driven by a Knowledge-based Economy, developed by the researcher ............48 Figure 2 Indicators of Change in Teaching and Research, created by researcher .............61

Figure 3 Indicators of Research and Scholarly Collaboration ...........................................63

Figure 4 Indicators of Internationalized Curricular at Home.............................................64

Figure 5 Indicators of Study Abroad (Outbound) ..............................................................66

Figure 6 Indicators of International Students .....................................................................67

Figure 7 Indicators of Cross-Border Delivery of Education Programs .............................68

Figure 8 Indicators of Organizational Structure ................................................................69

Figure 9 Questions for Management Process ....................................................................70

Figure 10 Indicators of Participants ...................................................................................72

Figure 11 Conceptual Framework of the Configuration of Organizational Design, Program Strategies and Contextual Factors in Internationally Oriented Universities .......74 Figure 12 Organizational Structure for Internationalization at Old Teikoku University in August 2008 .....................................................................................................................135 Figure 13 Organizational Structure for Internationalization at Fukugo University in August 2008 .....................................................................................................................186 Figure 14 Organizational Structure for Internationalization at Tanka University in August 2008..................................................................................................................................232

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Problem Statement

The environment surrounding higher education has been changing due to

globalization. The flow of people, ideas, and products across national borders has been

accelerating with advanced technology and information and communication technology

(ICT) (Breton & Lambert, 2003; Knight & de Wit, 1997; P. Scott, 1998; van Damme,

2002). This macro socio-economic process of globalization affects all aspects of national

activities making the world more interdependent and more competitive. Thus, the

internationalization of higher education has become an important national agenda in

many countries (Henry, Lingard, Rizvi, & Taylor, 2001, p. 19). Universities worldwide

face severe pressure to expand their roles and transform their structures to respond to

demands and challenges led by the emerging social conditions (Arimoto, 2002).

Kerr (1990, 1994) argues that modern universities have been products of national

interest by stating “education, and higher education, not only came to serve the

administrative and economic interests of the nation-state but has become an essential

aspect of the development of national identity;” however, in the 21st century, he

recognizes that higher education will be transformed from a “nation-state-university” into

a “cosmopolitan-nation-state university” (Kerr, 1994, p. 9).

Japanese universities are not exceptions to the need for internationalization. In a

1998 report, A Vision for Japanese Universities in the 21st Century and Reform

Measures: Distinctive Universities in a Competitive Environment, the Japanese Ministry

of Education (MOE) adopted internationalization as one of its objectives in Japan’s

higher education reform to enhance Japanese higher education institutions to excel in a

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competitive global market (Tsuruta, 2003, p. 127). In the 21st century, recognized as the

“century of knowledge,” Japanese higher education institutions are striving for qualitative

improvement to produce world-class research and to cultivate human resources with high

academic abilities and diverse talents (MEXT, n.d.).

Historically, government policies on internationalization have focused on the

mobility of academic staff and students, especially increasing international student

populations at Japanese universities. More recently, government initiatives began taking a

more systemic approach to internationalize higher education as a whole institution. In

2005, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

(MEXT) initiated the Project of International Headquarters in Universities (Japan Society

for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2006). For this project, nineteen universities and

one inter-university research institute received funds for five years to advance institution-

wide international activities by strengthening the function of their international strategy

headquarters. This university-wide unit plans and coordinates institutional

internationalization. Furthermore, in 2009, the government launched Global 30, a project

to establish core universities for internationalization. Thirteen universities were selected

to become Japan’s centers of internationalization to receive more international students

under the Plan for 300,000 International Students (JSPS, n.d.). These universities are

required to make further systemic changes in educational and administrative systems and

the development of international networks.

Traditionally, internationalization has referred to international activities that have

been a part of the life of the universities based on individual aspirations to seek

knowledge and experience internationally; however, during the last decade or so,

3

discourse on internationalization has started to focus on the institutionalization of

international activities that have emerged due to changes in the context of higher

education. International activities became more diverse, structured and integrated into the

regular organizational life of higher education (Nokkala, 2007, pp. 14-16). For the past

two decades, studies on internationalization of higher education focusing on

organizational change have increased and expanded the scope of research.

First, scholars in the fields of higher education and international education worked

on determining the dimensions of higher education to promote internationalization with

performance indicators (see Ashizawa, 2006; Davies, 1992, 1995; de Wit & Knight,

1999; Ebuchi,1989a; Ellingboe, 1996, 1998, 1999; Green & Olson, 2003; Knight, 2004,

2006; Knight & De Wit, 1995, 1997; Mestenhauser, 2002; Nilsson, 2003; Paige, 2003,

2005; Paige & Mestenhauser, 1999). With such rich studies, there are now numerous

dimensions and indicators of internationalization discussed in the recent research

literature.

The second type of study on organizational internationalization proposes models

to assess the level of internationalization based on organizational designs including

policy making, implementing the policies, and creating support systems (see Davis, 1992,

1995; van Dijk, 1995; van Dijk & Meijer, 1998). This type of study has focused on how

organizational design has changed toward the development of internationally oriented

universities.

The third type of study has expanded the scope of the internationalization process

taking into account environmental factors (see Davies, 1992, 1995; Huisman & van der

Wende, 2005). To improve organizational design, it is essential to examine what external

4

factors affect organizations in particular ways. The Higher Education Institutions’

Responses to Europeanisation, Internationalisation and Globalisation (HEIGLO) project

identified external factors impacting European higher education institutions by

conducting a case study of five types of higher education institutions across seven

European countries (Huisman & van der Wende, 2005).

A growing body of literature and studies on organizational internationalization

with these approaches has contributed to conceptualization of the internationalizing

process of higher education institutions; however, the concepts and models regarding

organizational internationalization are still in the developmental stage. Luijten-Lub,

Huisman, & van der Wende (2005) state in the introduction of their HEIGLO study,

“With respect to the theoretical orientation, we should first recall that there is not any

generally agreed upon conceptual framework for structuring or classifying phenomena of

knowledge with respect to internationalization” (p. 12). Furthermore, the extant studies

on organizational internationalization have focused largely on the aspect of internal

change to become internationally oriented universities rather than examining it in relation

to external factors. As mentioned above, the HEIGLO study is one of a few studies to

examine organizational behaviors of internationalization taking into account three

institutional factors: regulative, normative and cultural cognitive pillars. As one of their

findings, they proposed four types of internationalization strategies based on their four

identified main goals of internationalization, and they described different patterns of

internationalization based on the institutional goals of internationalization.

Teichler (2004) also argues that the simple conceptual categorization of an

internationally oriented university, a national university, and a regional university is

5

obsolete when it comes to internationalization of higher education institutions. He claims

that all higher education institutions need to be international as well as national to

participate in the current trends of internationalization of higher education in European

countries (Teichler, 2004, p. 9). In the era of globalization, universities are still regulated

within the national higher education system while remaining under the influence of the

international or global sphere. As Teichler argues, if all universities need to respond to

the demands and challenges of a global knowledge society, the issues of organizational

internationalization should be approached with the notion of a variation of internationally

oriented universities.

This study aims to explore the potential patterns of internationally oriented

universities by examining the configuration of organizational design, program strategies,

and contextual factors. Based on the findings of the HEIGLO study of the four

internationalization strategies, the current study aims to gain further understanding of the

internationalization processes in relation to an institutional internationalization strategy

selected by the universities based on their perception of the context in which they exist.

This study specifically focuses on Japanese universities. Studies on organizational

internationalization have recently emerged in Japan, including case studies on the process

of internationalization at a Japanese university as organizational change (Kitahara, 2003;

Watabe, 2005), a case study defining internationalization components and indicators for

Japanese universities (Ashizawa, 2006), and a quantitative study on the trends of

internationalization activities at Japanese universities (Yonezawa, Hirouchi, &

Murasawa, 2008). To date, however, few studies have been conducted on organizational

internationalization in terms of organizational design in relation to the external context.

6

Furthermore, the importance of the study on organizational internationalization has

increased due to the implementation of the Japanese government’s initiative to establish

an international strategy headquarters in 19 selected Japanese universities as model cases

in 2005. The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) began reporting best

practices on internationalization at these universities and aims to develop models for

university internationalization in Japan by the end of the five-year project. The issue of

how universities can be transformed from nation-state institutions to cosmopolitan-

nation-state universities or more internationally oriented universities is an essential

agenda of current university reform in Japan.

Significance of Study

This study attempts to make contributions in two ways. First, it aims to contribute

more systematic understanding of the complex process of internationalization so Japanese

universities and the government can develop a more effective strategy to respond to the

challenges and demands of globalization. Japanese universities need to develop

institutional environments that enhance high quality research and cultivate students so

they are prepared for a global knowledge society. Exploring the patterns of institutional

behaviors of internationalization as a response to the environmental changes provides a

holistic view of the internationalization process for the policy makers, higher education

senior leaders, administrators, and faculty members in Japan.

This study also strives to add to the scholarly knowledge in the area of

internationalization of higher education with an initial attempt to explore a typological

approach to the study of organizational internationalization based on the finding of the

HEIGLO study on the four types of the internationalization strategies. The approach of

7

this study is to examine the internationalization process with the configuration of

organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors at three Japanese

universities that have adopted a competitive internationalization strategy. Although it is

an exploratory study of only a few universities with a type of internationalization

strategy, I hope that it will contribute to further developing a conceptual framework to

investigate internationalization of universities.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to explore how and why three exemplary national

university corporations have been internationalizing by examining the configuration of

organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors needed to develop

internationally oriented universities. Three main objectives of this study are:

• To portray the process of internationalization of three exemplary universities in

their unique contexts and organizational characteristics within their chosen

environments;

• To develop an understanding of the internationalization processes by which the

universities continually adjust to their environments; and

• To explore a strategic model to develop internationally oriented universities in

Japan.

This is an exploratory study that will lead to the creation of a strategic model of

internationally oriented universities in Japan by examining how three exemplary

universities have undertaken the internationalization process.

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Research Questions

To address these objectives for further research to understand the transformation

of the nation-state universities to become internationally oriented universities, I explore

the following research questions.

• How and why are three Japanese national university corporations different or

similar in their internationalization strategies?

• How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their

international programs/activities for the selected internationalization strategy?

Why?

• How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their

administrative systems including the organizational structure, management

process, and participants to implement selected international activities? Why?

Definitions of Key Terms

Definitions of key terms in this study are as follows. The expanded concept of

each term is discussed in chapter 2.

Globalization

Globalization is “the flow of technology, economy, knowledge, people, values,

ideas…across borders. Globalization affects each country in different ways due to a

nation’s individual history, traditions, culture and priorities” (Knight & de Wit, 1997, p.

6).

Internationalization

Internationalization of the university is defined as the process of integrating

international, cross-cultural and global perspectives into various dimensions of a

9

university system. It is a systemic institutional strategy to change the internal system of

the organization to respond to the changes in the globalizing environment. (See Kitamura,

1999; Knight, 2004; van der Wende, 1997).

Internationalization components

Internationalization components refer to essential dimensions of higher education

institutions that need to be internationalized. They are recognized as possible approaches

whereby universities intentionally choose to promote internationalization due to their

institutional objectives. (See Ashizawa, 2006; de Wit and Knight, 1999; Ellingboe, 1998).

Contextual factors

Contextual factors refer to the organizational domain that affects the selection of

best internationalization strategies that fit their unique environmental conditions. In this

study, contextual factors include the institutional orientation (teaching or research), the

primary vision of the university (an elite university or a mass-market-university), and

characteristics of the university (size, geographic location, predominant mission, age, and

subject area offered) (Arimoto, 2007; van der Wende, et al., 2005).

Internationalization strategies

Internationalization strategies are an institutional plan of action designed to

achieve a particular ultimate goal of internationalization. In this study, four strategies

proposed by the HEIGLO project were adopted: (1) Competition: Elitism and the

achievement of world player status; (2) Cooperation and networking: Strengthening the

regional institutional profile; (3) Internationalization for survival; and (4)

Internationalization as a means of improving the institutional profile within the country

(van der Wende, et al., 2005, pp. 220-223).

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Technology

Technologies are “the combination of skills, equipment, and relevant technical

knowledge needed to bring about desired transformations in materials, information or

people” (R. E. Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 256). Specifically, technologies in the universities

are defined as the process of education and research. In this study, technology

specifically refers to (1) the internationalization programs/activities related to education

and research, and (2) changes in teaching and research.

Administrative system

Administrative systems refer to the organizational design including organizational

structure, management procedures, and participants who are “those individuals who, in

return for a variety of inducements, make contributions to the organization” (W. R. Scott,

1981, p. 16).

Conceptual Framework

It is important to restate how internationalization is defined in this study to

discuss the conceptual framework for this study:

Internationalization of the university is defined as the process of integrating

international, cross-cultural and global perspectives into various dimensions of a

university system. It is a systemic institutional strategy to change the internal system of

the organization to respond to changes in the globalizing environment. (See Kitamura,

1999; Knight, 2004; van der Wende, 1997).

Internationalization is recognized as the process of organizational change to adapt

to changing environmental conditions. According to this definition of internationalization,

the theoretical model of the adaptive cycle proposed by R. E. Miles and Snow (1978) is

11

adopted as an overarching conceptual framework for this proposed study. The adaptive

cycle provides a way to examine the internationalization process considering the

relationship of organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors to

develop internationally oriented universities.

The extant studies on organizational internationalization are then reviewed to

examine the three stated elements to develop internationally oriented universities.

Internationalization components and indicators for each element are identified. The

reviewed organizational internationalization topics include identifying

internationalization components and indicators (Ashizawa, 2006; Davies, 1995; JSPS,

2007; Knight, 2006; Knight & de Wit, 1995; The National Institution for Academic

Degrees and University Evaluation (NIAD-UE), 2006; Paige, 2005; Watabe, 2005),

developing models to assess the level of internationalization in terms of organizational

design such as policy, structure, and managerial process (Davies, 1995; van Dijk, 1995;

van Dijk & Meijer, 1998), and developing an understanding of the internationalization

process in relation to the changing environment (Huisman & van der Wende, 2005). The

reviewed literature and the conceptual framework are further discussed in chapter 2.

Methodology

A case study with a multiple-case design was employed. Three exemplary cases

were selected to understand the internationalization process as an emerging typical

response to the changing circumstances and conditions in which any university exists.

They were national key-prioritized research universities that have been promoting

international activities and recently established an institutional-wide international

strategic unit to plan and coordinate internationalization activities.

12

The selected data collection methods were interview and document analysis. The

interview method was a one-to-one, in-depth, semi-structured format. A total of forty

senior leaders, faculty, and staff members were asked open-ended questions regarding the

internationalization process in their universities during one hour to one and half hour

interviews. The interviewees were involved in or in a position to have some influence on

the decision-making process in university-wide internationalization activities.

Document analysis was conducted to collect evidence of internationalization and

to attain background and contextual information to thoroughly investigate the process of

organizational internationalization at the interviewees’ universities. Examined documents

included written materials regarding internationalization of each university including, but

not limited to, the mission statement, mid-term objectives and plan, website, catalogs,

campus-wide self-reports and external evaluation reports on international exchange and

cooperation activities, and some reports regarding international activities.

Assumptions

The following assumptions were applied to this study:

• Using the assumption of equifinality, there is more than one way to

internationalize Japanese universities. Katz and Kahn (2005) define

equifinality as “a system can reach the same final state from differing initial

conditions and by a variety of paths” (p. 488).

• Applying configurational theory to this case study, the ways to internationalize

Japanese universities are not endless. There are only a handful of basic ways

that they can be internationalized. Hambrick (2003) states, “Strategic

equifainlity is the idea that, within a particular industry or environment, there is

13

more than one way to prosper. But—and this is where the configurational

perspective comes in—there are not an endless number of ways to prosper.

Instead, there are a handful of basic patterns that business can select from in

order to achieve their aims” (p. ix).

• Adopting the theory of adaptive cycle and fit proposed by R. E. Miles and

Snow (1978, 1986), the choice of an internationalization strategy influences the

design of the university’s structure and administrative processes.

Organization of Thesis

This thesis consists of eight chapters. Chapter one is the introduction which

frames the research problem explored in this study. I provide the context of the research

problem, define the key terms, and present the research questions. Chapter two analyzes

the theoretical and empirical literature related to internationalization of higher education

that I used to construct the conceptual framework for this study. The three main areas of

the reviewed literature are: the definition of internationalization and globalization; extant

studies on organizational internationalization of higher education; and theory of

organizational adaptation. At the end of the literature review, the conceptual framework

for this study is discussed. Chapter three explains the methodology, methods, research

design, and protocols employed in this study. A multiple-design case study methodology

was used which included both interviews and document analysis as data collection

methods since this study aimed to explore the process of internationalization of higher

education institutions.

Chapter four, five, six and seven discuss the findings of this study. Chapter four,

five and six present an individual case analysis for each of the three universities studied.

14

Each case analysis is presented in a descriptive format to portray the process of

internationalization of the studied university in its own unique context and organizational

characteristics. Chapter seven synthesizes the findings of the three individual university

cases and presents a cross-case analysis of the process of internationalization. This

chapter aims to identify the common elements of the internationalization process across

the three studied universities to explore a strategic model for developing internationally

oriented universities in Japan.

Finally, chapter eight concludes this thesis with a discussion that interweaves the

five common elements of the internationalization process with the current literature of

internationalization of higher education. This chapter is an attempt to construct a strategic

model for developing internationally oriented universities in Japan. In addition, the

implications of the study and recommendations for future research are made.

15

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Social Changes and Emerging Challenges for Japanese Universities

Kitamura (2002) describes the current environment where Japanese universities

exit as “the epoch of natural selection and reorganization of the universities and

international competition” (translated by the author, p. 33) in his book, Daigaku wa

umarekawareru ka: Kokusaika suru daigaku hyouka no naka de [Can Japanese

universities can be transformed?: Under the internationalization of the standards for the

university assessment]. University reform initiatives began being implemented in the

early 1990s by means of deregulating the university system to increase autonomies and

innovations of individual institutions and improve educational and research functions in

order to make Japan’s higher education competitive in a global market of higher

education (Itoh, 2002, pp. 20-22).

The current university reform was largely impacted by globalization as well as the

demographic changes in higher education student applicants in Japan (Arimoto, 2002;

Kitamura, 2002; Mok, 2006; Tsuruta, 2003). Surging globalization related to the

emergence of a knowledge-based society, market-driven economy, and advanced ICT is

blurring national borders. As a result, universities began simultaneously operating in both

national and international or global contexts, in which they are regulated by the national

policies under the direct and indirect impact of globalization. Globalization can be

identified as a universal issue for higher education in the world; however, the recent

decrease in the 18-year-old population in Japan is the prime factor behind the current

university reform (Amano, 2004, p. 45) since historically, Japanese universities have

been designed to educate young people aged 18 to 22, targeting the18-year-old

16

population as primary applicants for admission to Japanese universities (Kitamura, 2002,

p. 122).

The Council for Central Education in MEXT identified the recent decrease of the

18-year-old population after reaching a peak of 2,050,000 in 1992, and they expect the

population to bottom out at 1,210,000 by 2009 and remain at around 1,200,000 for the

next ten years (MEXT, 2004, p. 6).

Japanese higher education is also moving from the massification stage to a

universal stage with the advancement rate of high school graduates to universities and

junior colleges at 56.2 % (50.2 % at universities and 6.0 % at junior colleges) in 2009

(MEXT, 2009). Although the advancement rate has been continuously increasing for the

past decade, the actual number of high school graduates entering universities and junior

colleges started to decrease in 2009. Amano (2004) also reported that the ratio of high

school graduates who passed college entrance examinations increased from 62-63% to

84% (p. 45) while MEXT predicted that in 2007 or 2009, all applicants would be

admitted to universities or junior colleges because of higher education institutions’

greater capacity to accommodate the applicants (MEXT, 2004, p. 7). The decrease in the

18-year-old population has directly impacted management of universities since they need

to determine how they can secure the required number of students to be sustainable. Thus,

the survival of individual Japanese universities depends on how successfully and

innovatively they can adapt to the current changes in the environment.

As a response to the environmental changes surrounding universities in Japan, the

1998 University Council report, A Vision for Japanese Universities in the 21st Century

and Reform Measures: Distinctive Universities in a Competitive Environment, outlined

17

the direction of current university reforms. This report focused on functional

diversification and individualization of higher education institutions and an expansion of

institutional autonomy to respond to the changing social conditions such as globalization

and the rapidly aging population.

Later, in 2005, the Central Council for Education released The Future of Higher

Education in Japan, proposing similar suggestions to the 1998 Council report. They

stated that this report was a road map for Japan’s higher education for the next decade,

emphasizing the promotion of functional diversification of the universities based on their

choice to excel in their own distinctiveness. They proposed seven types of university

functions: (1) center of excellence (world-class research and education), (2) professional

education for highly specialized skills, (3) professional education in various fields, (4)

liberal arts education, (5) specialized fields such as arts or athletics, (6) life-long learning

in the local community, and (7) center for social contribution such as contributions to the

local community, industry-academic collaboration, and international exchange. To

respond to these needs in the massification stage of higher education with a rapidly aging

population and globalizing knowledge society, the higher education policy proposed both

diversification and individualization of the universities based on their mission and goals.

University reforms accelerated even further under the 2001 Policies for the

Structural Reform of Universities called the Toyama Plan1 as a part of Prime Minister

Koizumi’s structural reform policy with an emphasis on privatization and market

1 The Toyama Plan was named after the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology at the time.

18

competition, so that the direction of the university reform became more economic and

industrial oriented (Yonezawa, 2003, p. 151). The Toyama plan proposed radical

organizational changes for Japanese universities, especially calling for national

universities to improve the efficiency of administrations. The plan included three

initiatives: reorganization and consolidation of national universities2, transformation of

national universities into corporations adopting private sector management practices, and

the introduction of the principle of competitive financial allocation based on third-party

evaluations.

In April 2004, national universities were converted into national university

corporations, which changed the institutional decision-making system from a bottom-up

design to a top-down design. Under the old national university system, colleges had

strong autonomy since college councils had decision-making authority over academic

matters as well as academic personnel and allocation of their budgets. Moreover, the

academic senate, which was the highest institutional decision-making unit, consisted of

representatives selected by each college. In contrast, national university corporations are

managed by the president of the university as the chief executive and the executive board

appointed by the president. The management council, with half of the members from

outside the university, functions as the primary council to discuss essential management

issues such as mid-term plans and objectives, budgets, and self-evaluation reports

(Amano, 2008, pp. 167-174).

2 In 2009, the number of national universities was 86, down from 99 before corporatization.

19

Another important change is that MEXT previously had authority over personnel

matters at the administrative bureau level; however, this authority is now largely

delegated to the president of the university. Before corporatization, the administrative and

academic categories were under completely separate management systems. After

corporatization, the universities are struggling with how to develop the structure to make

the two systems operate as equal partners (Amano, 2008, pp. 179-180).

While implementing the initiatives to increase institutional autonomy in the

university administration, the government also implemented mandatory third-party

evaluations to increase accountability. The national university corporations are required

to submit mid-term (six year) plans and objectives to MEXT who approves these plans.

The universities are then evaluated based on these mid-term plans and objectives, and the

evaluation results determine future actions including re-examination of government

subsidies and discontinuation of contracts (Kaneko, 2009, p. 63).

In national university corporations, senior administrations manage institutional

budgeting since government subsidies are allocated in lump sums (Kaneko, 2009, p. 66).

However, the government has reduced subsidies for management expenses by one

percent every year since 2004, but it has increased the competitive funds such as Centers

of Excellence (COE) Programs to enhance the research functions including graduate

education and Good Practice Programs to support quality advancement of education.

Furthermore, national university corporations are expected to make institutional efforts to

gain external funds including academic-industry collaborations.

The current university reform aims to develop the internationally competitive

higher education system in a global knowledge society. At the same time, universities

20

must respond to the need to diversify their functions for the universal stage of higher

education, in which the percentage of students attending higher education is over 50%

and higher education becomes accessible to any population instead of targeting the

traditional student population (Trow, 1973). The function of higher education also

became “adaptation of ‘whole population’ to rapid social and technological change”

(Brennan, 2004, p. 23). The 2005 report outlined the need to increase accessibility to

higher education for professionals, international students, and other non-traditional

students due to the decreasing traditional student population.

The new roles and functions of higher education in a global knowledge society as

well as at the universal stage of higher education provision in Japan were outlined in the

government higher education policy. In particular, it recognized the changing trend of the

government policy on internationalization of higher education. Internationalization of

higher education in Japan began with the 1983 proposal for international students, the

Plan for100,000 Foreign Students. After the original goal to accept 100,000 international

students was achieved in 2003, the Plan for 300,000 Foreign Students by 2020 was

announced in 2008.

The external call that Japan needed to develop an attitude of international

cooperation in the 1972 OECD mission report had an impact on the first radical proposal

of accepting 100,000 foreign students. During the last two decades, internationalization

of higher education has been promoted by expanding the international student population

under government leadership. Although various academic, social and cultural reasons

were given, the main rationale was more politically oriented to the objective of Japan’s

international contribution as a member of the international society. The Plan for 100,000

21

Foreign Student was perceived as a part of the official development assistant (ODA)

policy that was meant to contribute to human resource development in developing

countries (Ninomiya, 2004; Sato, 2004). The implemented internationalization initiatives

were largely responses to the academic, financial, and social needs of international

students studying at universities in Japan (See Appendix B: Internationalization

Initiatives Proposed by MEXT between 1982 and 2003).

Due to the changing environment surrounding higher education, however,

internationalization began being discussed as a part of the higher education policy in the

1998 and 2005 reports on the future visions and directions of Japan’s higher education

system. To make the Japanese higher education system globally competitive,

internationalization was discussed as a strategy in those reports. Furthermore, in 2005,

MEXT presented the report, Internationalization Strategy at the Ministry of Education,

Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). This report refers to their human

resource strategy including recruiting talented young scholars internationally and

individual university’s efforts to promote internationalization to reflect institutional

characteristics.

The Plan for 300,000 Foreign Students also became more strategic with the

changing perception of international students as human capital in Japanese society rather

than only educating future leaders of their home countries by emphasizing Japan’s

objectives to increase skilled immigrants. It is important to mention that the Plan for

300,000 Foreign Students was announced under joint signatures of six ministries:

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Ministry of

Foreign Affairs (MOFA); Ministry of Justice (MOJ); Ministry of Health, Labor, and

22

Welfare (MHLW); Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); and Ministry of

Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Furthermore, the plan included a

strategic investment in 30 selected universities to be transformed into global universities

so they could attract international students. In the plan, they proposed initiatives

including development of degree programs with English as the language of instruction

and improvement of the academic system and infrastructure to promote international

student mobility.

In 2009, the government initiative to establish core universities for

internationalization called Global 30 was implemented. Thirteen universities were just

recently selected to improve their international competitiveness and to create an

internationalized environment to attract talented international students as well as to foster

Japanese students and scholars with international competence. Before the Global 30

Project, in 2005, the government also implemented an initiative to establish a university-

wide organization to plan, coordinate and support internationalization initiatives in 19

universities and one research center. It was the first government initiative referring to the

institutional systematic internationalization, which was different from the past main

initiatives with an additive international program approach. The ultimate goal of the

project was to develop strategic models for university internationalization and share good

internationalization practices with other universities. Thus, the Japanese government

began investigating the best ways to internationalize Japanese universities as a whole.

Amano (1978) indicated that internationalization of higher education is an

inherent issue for the modern university characterizing it as useful for a nation (p. 26-28).

Kerr (1990) also described the role of the modern university as being able to nurture its

23

citizens for national development (p. 7). The modern university has developed largely

due to the interests and controls of nation states, so higher education systems have

become divergent across the nations. In other words, the characteristic of a modern

university is less universalistic and more nationalistic or particularistic.

Ebuchi (1997) stated that Japanese universities need to pursue a model integrating

the characteristics of the cosmopolitan university and the nation-state university to

function as knowledge centers in the 21st century (p. 141), or as Kerr (1994) called it, the

“cosmopolitan-nation-state university” (p. 9). Ebuchi recognizes that research and

education at universities need to be valid internationally while at the same time

universities still take on an important role in developing and nurturing their citizens. The

vision of Japanese universities in the 21st century must address and negotiate how to

consolidate universalism and particularism. Teichler (2004) also acknowledges the

challenge of the universities in the era of globalization, in which the universities are still

regulated within the national higher education system, but at the same time they have to

manage themselves under the influence of the international or global sphere.

Evolution of Definition of Internationalization of Higher Education

Defining internationalization in the context of higher education can be

challenging as Nokkala (2007) described: “The internationalization of higher education

can hardly be said to be a clear-cut phenomenon evolving along a liner chronological

continuum” (p. 13). In this section, I discuss how the definition of internationalization has

evolved in the fields of international education and higher education. To define

internationalization, its relationship with globalization cannot be ignored. Therefore, first,

the notion of globalization is explored specifically in the context of higher education.

24

Then, I explore how internationalization is generally perceived in Japanese cultural and

social context to highlight the importance of the study context.

Globalization

In the last two decades, the notion of globalization has been incorporated into

educational theories and policies worldwide (Henry, et al., 2001, p. 19). In the OECD

Globalization and Educational Policy, globalization is interpreted as “the enormous

economic, political and cultural changes that characterize human society at the beginning

of the 21st century” (Henry, et al., 2001, p. 19). Luijten-lub, Huisman, and van der Wende

(2005) expand on this definition of globalization by giving the direction of the changes.

They describe globalization as the process of “an increasing convergence and

interdependence of economies and societies” (Luijten-Lub, et al., 2005, p. 12). Under

globalization, integration of regulatory systems across borders is promoted while the role

of the nation-states is blurred (Luijten-Lub, et al., 2005, p. 12). Enders and Fulton (2002)

also argue that the power of nation-states to regulate higher education systems will be

limited in a globalized environment (p. 6).

Globalization is a complex, unprecedented social process that affects all nations in

terms of their functions and their economic, social, and cultural development. Higher

education institutions that have been the products of national policies and ideology are

not exempt from the processes of globalization. In fact, higher education scholars

recognize globalization as the most powerful external factor impacting contemporary

higher education (Arimoto, 2005; Knight, 2006; P. Scott, 1998; Van Vught, van der

Wende, & Westerheijden, 2002; Yonezawa, 2003). P. Scott (1998) states:

25

Not all universities are (particularly) international, but all are subject to the same processes of globalization—partly as objectives, victims even, of these processes, but partly as subjects, or key agents, of globalization (p. 122).

Arimoto (2005) also expresses the inescapable impact of globalization on higher

education by emphasizing the role of higher education for development of the nation state

in the 21st century:

The impact of globalization on higher education is gradually growing to the extent that no system throughout the world can escape from this trend when they attempt to develop their own society through higher education (p. 3). Knight (2006) also perceives the impact of globalization on higher education

while she recognizes the neutrality of its impact. She states that “…globalization is

positioned as a key environmental factor that has multiple effects—both positive and

negative on education” (Knight, 2006, p. 208). Her proposed definition of globalization

is:

The flow of technology, economy, knowledge, people, values, ideas…across borders. Globalization affects each country in different ways due to a nation’s individual history, traditions, culture and priorities” (Knight & de Wit, 1997, p. 6).

This definition refers to the phenomenon of increasing convergence and interdependence

in the world by describing the trend of increasing cross-border communication. Moreover,

it indicates that the impact of globalization varies depending on the respondents’ values,

perceptions and approach. Therefore, its impact could be positive, negative, or both.

Three main factors are often identified in the discussion of the phenomenon of

globalization in the field of higher education: the emergence of a knowledge-based

society, the introduction of marketization to higher education, and the advancement of

information and communication technologies (ICT) (Arimoto, 2002; Breton & Lambert,

2003; Knight, 2006; P. Scott, 1998; Seddoh, 2002; van Damme, 2002). Knight (2006)

26

discusses these factors as integral elements of globalization while Arimoto (2002) and

van Damme (2002) describe them as emerging trends accompanying globalization.

Emergence of a Knowledge-based Society

Japanese society is moving from an industrial society toward a knowledge-based

society. In a knowledge-based society, the sustainable development of a nation-state is

highly associated with the development of knowledge and innovations (P. Scott, 1998).

Van Damme (2002) states that in a knowledge-based society, the expectations and

demands of universities will increase, recognizing them as knowledge centers (p. 22).

Arimoto (2005) also acknowledges that universities are expected to function as

influential institutions to produce, disseminate, apply, and manage knowledge (pp. 3-4).

In a knowledge-based society, advancement of scientific and technological research has

become more important than ever since it has become the main resource for economic

and social development (van Damme, 2002, p. 22). To expand research capacity,

universities need to establish cooperation across institutional and national borders.

A knowledge society will be enhanced by producing knowledge and innovation

through human intelligence, so an increase in human capital in the form of a highly

skilled workforce is essential to a knowledge society. Such a society demands more

knowledge workers who are creative, innovative, and flexible to adapt to, examine, and

foresee changes in the society. Universities as knowledge centers would be expected to

develop human resources with newly required skills and advanced knowledge. Knight

(2006) also points out that there is a growing emphasis on continuing education, life-long

learning, and continual professional development in the higher education field (p. 210).

27

Introduction of Marketization to Higher Education

In the 1980s, the concept of marketization was introduced to the field of higher

education (Amano, 2004, p. 181). Higher education institutions began to be seen as an

entity of enterprises, which need to take into account efficient management and

accountability (Amano, 2004, pp. 181-182). The pressure to apply marketization to

higher education institutions has been growing due to the emergence of a borderless

higher education market. Japanese universities are no exception. Due to the notion of

competition in a global market combined with a prolonged recession and governmental

financial crisis, the public began to question the quality of Japanese universities (Itoh,

2002). The question arose of whether the productivity of higher education is

proportionate to the investment made in it (Arimoto, 2002, p. 135).

Advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

The advancement of ICT is the medium to accelerate globalization (Breton &

Lambert, 2003; P. Scott, 1998; Seddoh, 2002; van Damme, 2002). ICT will expedite the

transition to a knowledge-based society so marketization can expand faster and broader

across countries and fields. Nevertheless, higher education scholars recognize that ICT is

changing and diversifying the forms and delivery methods of higher education (Arimoto,

2002; Kitamura, 2002; Knight, 2006). Although campus-based education is still most

prevalent, long-distance education has accelerated through the use of online and satellite

mediums of delivery (Kitamura, 2002, p. 157). Online universities, satellite campuses,

and e-learning are emerging forms of higher education. Reducing physical constraints,

ICT increases accessibility to education, so students are able to choose and access

education institutions and programs across national borders.

28

Kitamura (2002) describes some issues regarding ICT advancement and how they

are likely to impact Japanese universities. As accessibility to information about

universities increases worldwide through the use of the Internet, Japanese universities

cannot avoid competing with foreign universities for students. One of the issues he raises

is whether highly motivated and talented Japanese youth would still choose a Japanese

university (Kitamura, 2002, p. 99) since the emergence of world rankings for universities

has revealed that the quality of Japanese universities is not highly regarded in the global

market.

Another issue is that international students are becoming the means for Japanese

universities to secure an adequate student population due to a decrease in the traditional

student population. Therefore, Japanese universities have begun to target international

students and nontraditional students such as adult learners as potential prospective

students. Some universities are depending on international students from other Asian

countries to secure the required number of students (Kitamura, 2002, p. 99). As a result,

many international students in Japan are from developing countries, but a recurring

question is whether they would still be interested in coming to study at Japanese

universities if they could access education at home through the Internet. Moreover, due to

the emergence of a global market for higher education, the question then becomes

whether or not Japanese universities could attract international students.

To conclude, three main factors associated with globalization in the context of

higher education emerged. Globalization is recognized as the most powerful external

force within current higher education. The emergence of a knowledge-based society, the

marketization of higher education and the advancement of ICT are often identified as the

29

three main factors of globalization. Although all three factors are influential in the

internationalization of higher education, the emergence of a knowledge-based society and

the marketization of higher education are considered more related to this study because

they would influence institutional selection of internationalization strategies, which direct

the process of internationalization.

Definition of Internationalization in the Higher Education Field

It is difficult to develop a generic definition for the term “internationalization” in

the literature on higher education because it must be applicable to different countries,

cultures, and education systems (Knight, 2004, p. 11). However, there is consensus that

the definition of internationalization includes internationalization of both strategic

components and processes. Definitions based on the first concept, internationalization of

strategic components, emphasize which aspects of higher education need to be

internationalized, while definitions based on the second concept, internationalization of

the process, underscore the idea that internationalization is an ongoing effort for

organizational change from a domestic focus to an international focus. Another important

notion, globalization, was also added to define internationalization related to the concept

of process. Globalization is perceived as an inescapable external factor while

internationalization is construed as an internal response to globalization.

Component-oriented definitions of internationalization proposed by American

scholars reflect American higher education between World War II and the end of the

Cold War. The historical trend of internationalization in American higher education was

the development and provision of international activities and programs, and the term,

30

international education was used rather than internationalization of higher education (de

Wit, 2002, pp. 103-120). Harari (1972) defines international education as:

an all inclusive term encompassing three major strands: (a) international content of curricula, (b) international movement of scholars and students concerned with training and research, and (c) arrangements engaging U.S. education abroad in technical assistance and educational cooperation programs (Harari, 1972, p. 3).

All three elements listed by Harari refer to an activity approach to the internationalization

of higher education. The definition proposed by Arum and Van de Water (1992) more

clearly indicates that the concept of the definition is a collection of international activities

and programs: “a suggested definition [of international education] is that it refers to

multiple activities, programs and services that fall within international studies,

international educational exchange and technical cooperation” (p. 202).

In the 1990s, internationalization of higher education was first defined as a

process, and the concept of internationalization components was perceived as a strategic

framework of organizational change (Ebuchi, 1989a; Ellingboe, 1996, 1998, 1999;

Knight, 1999, 2004, 2006; Knight & de Wit, 1995, 1997). Therefore, organizational or

managerial elements were added to the internationalization components, which originally

summed up activities and programs. Harari (1989) proposed a revised definition by

adding the elements of management and organization culture as:

International education must encompass not only the curriculum, international exchanges of scholars and students, cooperative programs with the community (local and international), training, research and a wider array of administrative and other services, but also distinct commitment, attitudes, global awareness, an orientation, [and] a dimension which transcends the entire institution and shapes its ethos (p. 2).

Harari implied that internationalization of higher education refers to the change or

progress of the university toward internationalization and requires an organizational

31

strategy although he did not define internationalization as a process in the first place nor

did he give practical elements of the institutional internationalization strategy.

In an OECD seminar, Higher Education and the Flow of Foreign Students, held in

Japan in 1988, Ebuchi (1989a) presented the process-oriented definition and defined

internationalization components as “a kind of inventory to measure to what extent a given

university is internationalized” (p. 50). He defined internationalization of higher

education as:

a process by which the educational provision of a higher education system becomes more sophisticated, enriched and broadly applicable of students from all backgrounds and countries, emphasizing especially the possibility of development of programs which are internationally and cross-culturally compatible, with a view toward providing all students with experiences and training necessary to develop skills for life in a world characterized by increasing international exchange (Ebuchi, 1989a, p. 46).

The set of internationalization components suggested by Ebuchi include (1)

Enrichment of educational programs and increase of diversified programs, (2)

Establishment of compatibility of school credits, (3) Attainment of international

consensus in administrating higher education institutions, (4) Promotion of intercultural

understanding and development of norms necessary for cooperative activities (symbiosis)

on and off campus, and (5) Increase in opportunities for individual scholars to

international collaborative research projects (Ebuchi, 1989a, pp. 50-52). His definition

and internationalization strategic components specifically reflect international exchange;

however, it is important to recognize that he proposed the second and third

internationalization components, which indicate the new trend of additional

organizational strategies in addition to program strategies.

32

Among a variety of working definitions and sets of internationalization strategic

components, the one proposed by Knight is becoming widely accepted as a generic and

functional meaning and framework (de Wit, 2002; Knight, 2004; Tsuruta, 2003). Her first

working definition of internationalization of higher education with the concept of process

was presented in 1994 (Knight, 2006, p. 213), and then updated to the 1994 definition

with a new definition of internationalization: “the process of integrating an international,

intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of post-

secondary education” (Knight, 2003, p. 2). Knight’s definition does not include purposes

or specific strategies for internationalization. Therefore, it is applicable to a wide range of

contexts: different countries, education systems, and levels of stakeholders such as

governments and other institutions.

Regarding a set of internationalization strategic components, Knight and de Wit

developed a comprehensive strategic framework to categorize the internationalization

initiatives at higher education institutions (Knight, 1999, 2004, 2006). Their framework

consists of two strategies, program strategies and organizational strategies, which

combined the original international academic program components with the additional

organizational components. Program strategies include four components: (1) academic

programs, (2) research and scholarly collaboration, (3) external relations and services

(domestic and abroad), and (4) extra-curricular activities. Organizational strategies

include an additional four components: (5) governance, (6) operations, (7) support

services, and (8) human resources development. Each component has a detailed list of

internationalization initiatives, which is included in Appendix A.

33

Another important evolution of defining internationalization in the field of higher

education is that internationalization was next defined as being related to globalization.

As mentioned above, globalization is a complex trans-national process of economics and

societies, which is perceived as an inescapable external factor impacting contemporary

and future higher education. Since the late 1990s, many scholars started discussing

internationalization of higher education related to globalization (Abe, 2004; Knight, 1999,

2004, 2006; Knight & de Wit, 1997; P. Scott, 1998; van der Wende, 1997). Huang (2002)

identified an increase in studies titled globalization and internationalization in the field of

higher education in Western countries, centering around EU countries beginning in the

1990s in his study on History and Achievements of Research in the Internationalization

of Higher Education. Moreover, national governments began to recognize the difference

between internationalization and globalization to develop the internationalization policy

for higher education.

van der Wende (1997) defines internationalization considering its interrelated

relationship with globalization as “any systemic, sustained effort aimed at making higher

education (more) responsive to the requirements and challenges related to the

globalization of societies, economy and labour markets” (p. 19). This definition positions

internationalization as a response of higher education to globalization. Abe (2004) also

suggested that internationalization of higher education is the essential measure to cope

with the globalization of the economy in his book, Daigaku to nihon no kokusaika:

Chiteki kokusai kouken no kokoromi [Internationalization of the university and Japan:

An attempt to make intellectual contributions to the international society]. The Council

for Central Education in Japan also defined internationalization as an internal strategy to

34

respond to an external environmental factor, globalization in the proposal, Review on the

Agenda for Internationalization of Higher Education and its Future Direction. In this

proposal, internationalization is defined as “the process to integrate international and

cross-cultural aspects into higher education to respond to globalization (translated by the

researcher) ” (MEXT, 2007, pp. 1-2).

Bringing the notion of globalization into the definition of internationalization

clarifies the context to define internationalization. As a result, it emphasizes that

internationalization is a strategy adopted by an internal entity such as a university and a

national government to respond to the demands and challenges of globalization. van der

Wende (1997) suggests that internationalization should be perceived as the means for

quality improvement of higher education or restructuring and upgrading of higher

education systems, which is an essential competency in the 21st century, besides the

existing notion that internationalization is understood as a goal (van der Wende, 1997, p.

19).

In summary, the definition of internationalization in the field of higher education

has evolved since the 1980s. At the beginning, internationalization of higher education

was defined with a set of international academic activities focusing on student and

scholar exchanges and internationalized curricula. Internationalization was an additional

effort perceived as supplementary activities. In the 1990s, however, it began to be defined

as the process of organizational change from a domestic focus to an international focus

by adding organizational strategic components to the original program strategic

components. This change was in recognition that internationalization requires a systemic

approach referring to organizational strategies such as governance, operations, services,

35

and human resources (Knight & de Wit, 1995). Knight and de Wit (1995) emphasize that

organizational strategies are essential to promote institutional-wide internationalization

instead of limiting internationalization to peripheral activities.

At the same time, the impact of globalization on higher education began to be

prominently discussed focusing on how to make higher education systems more

responsible to the rapidly changing environment. Internationalization began to be defined

in the context of the mega-social phenomenon of globalization. It was recognized as a

strategy that needs to be adopted by an internal entity such as a university and a national

government to respond to globalization. Kitamura (1999) describes internationalization of

higher education as “a strategy to make the university endure a direct hit of a storm called

globalization, avoid its destruction and allow it to land safely in the storm” [translated by

the author] (p. 17).

With deep consideration of the evolution of defining internationalization in the

field of higher education, internationalization of the university is defined for this study as

the process of integrating international, cross-cultural and global perspectives into

various dimensions of a university system. It is a systemic institutional strategy to change

the internal system of the organization to respond to the changes in the globalizing

environment.

This study focuses on internationalization of national university corporations in

Japan. Therefore, internationalization is defined at the institutional level. It is defined as

the strategy to change its institutional system through the process of integrating an

international perspective into the university system. This institutional definition

36

recognizes the relationship between the need for internal change within the university and

the impact of the changing environment in which the university exists.

Japanese View of Internationalization: Kokusaika

Kokusaika is the Japanese equivalent for the English term, internationalization.

According to Kokugo Dai Jiten Dictionary, it means “kokusaiteki-na mono ni naru koto.

sekai-ni tsuuyou-suru yoo-ni naru koto. [becoming international. becoming accepted by a

global society”(translated by the author from ("Shogakukan Kokugo Dai Jiten Dictionary

(Revised Edition) [Computer software]," 1988). In his study on The Concept of

Internationalization: A Semantic Analysis with Special Reference to Higher Education,

Ebuchi (1989b) states that when the Japanese use the term “ internationalization,” in

general, they are discussing themselves, and the perspective of discussion is essentially

what they should do to make Japan accepted internationally (p. 35).

Kokusaika or “internationalization” needs to be considered in an historical context

to understand how it obtains international acceptance. Hook and Weiner (1992) explain

that internationalization is differently interpreted according to a country’s position in the

international system, and Japan has been proceeding with internationalization as it has

been redefining its role in the world (p. 1). The history of the internationalization of

Japan started with the end of 300 years of national seclusion. Since then, the modern

nation of Japan has developed in two stages through its learning from Western nations

(Ebuchi, 1997; Kitamura, 1987).

In the first stage, after 300 years of national seclusion ending in 1854, Japan

absorbed Western technology, social ideologies, and cultures to catch up with the

modernized Western countries. In the second stage, after World War II, Japan took the

37

same strategy, but specifically adopting an American model, to become a member of the

international society. In those time periods, internationalization in Japan referred to

Westernization, Americanization and modernization, and its international relations were

limited to mostly Western countries (Ebuchi, 1997; Kitamura, 1987).

The concept of kokusaika as becoming international or becoming accepted

internationally or globally has developed due to Japan’s international society status as a

follower. Ebuchi (1989b) explains that the concept of kokusaika as the process of

becoming accepted by the rest of the world emerged through a process in which a small

nation could participate in the international society (p. 38). In the process of becoming a

member of the international society, a small nation has to follow the rules developed by

the nations with hegemony (Ebuchi, 1989b, p. 38). Amano (1978) names the perspective

of followers in the internationalization process at the university level in Japan as “tate no

kokusaisei [hierarchical internationality]” contrasted with “yoko no kokusaisei

[equivalent internationality]” (p. 26). He explains that “tate no kokusaisei” is the

disposition to decrease the gap in science and technology abilities between Japan and

Western nations and to promote Japan’s modernization rapidly by borrowing advanced

knowledge and skills from Western nations (Amano, 1978, p. 26). In other words, “tate

no kokusaisei” indicates Westernization, Americanization and modernization. On the

other hand, “yoko no kokusaisei” is defined as the disposition to promote academic and

human exchanges with Western nations in an equal position (Amano, 1978, p. 30).

Examining these perspectives on kokusaika reveals that internationalization was

conceptualized in the relationship between Japan and Western nations. Even though

Amano (1978) suggested the concept of “yoko no kokusaisei” emphasizing that Japanese

38

university entered the new stage of the process of internationalization as a partner instead

of a follower, the context in which the concept was developed was still limited to the

relationship between Japan and Western nations. Due to the fact that Japan has

historically been a follower, the global society or the rest of the world has referred to only

Western nations.

As Japan recovered from the devastation of World War II in the 1960s and as it

expanded its international relations with developing countries, the concept of kokusaika

began to move from Westernization, Americanization, or modernization to the mutual

exchange of people, cultures, ideas, and information among countries including

developed and developing countries (Ebuchi, 1989b, p. 40). Hook and Weiner (1992)

state that, “Japan’s present position in the world economy results precisely from its

penetration of other nations and its own increasing interdependence” (p. 1). In other

words, Japan moved from a follower to a participant in an international society. In fact,

Japan as a great economic nation was asked to contribute its share to the world in the

1972 OECD mission report, Nihon no Kyoiku Seisaku [Reviews of National Policies for

Education: Japan] (Kitamura, 1987, p. 51). In this report, the importance of developing

Japan’s attitudes toward international cooperation was clearly expressed.

Japan needs to change its fundamental attitude. We no longer regard the world only as the market in which we obtain technology and raw materials and sell products. The new definition of internationalism emerged. Japan has been sending the Japanese nation abroad to make them study and work for the country since it joined an international society 100 years ago due to the Meiji Restoration. From now on, Japan should participate in an international society on behalf of the world [Translated by author] (OECD, 1972, p. 138).

According to Japan’s prosperity, the internationalization paradigm shifted from a

unilateral to a bilateral model. Japan had been “jyushinsha [a beneficiary]” to adopt

39

Western products including ideas, technology, and material goods; however, Japan began

to be required to take on the role of “sooshinsha [a contributor]” to the international

society at the same time as being “jyushinsha” (Ebuchi, 1997, p. 28). Kitamura (1990)

describes the evolution of internationalization from “jyushinsha” to “sooshinsha” in the

1970-80s. He states that from the 1970s to 1980s, discussion of internationalization

expanded from the issue of adapting international standards in terms of commerce and

the economy to the issue of openness of culture and education (Kitamura, 1990, p. 47).

He continues that the ideology of internationalization evolved from the idea of self-

development through adapting itself to Western ideas and behaviors to the idea of

opportunities for international exchanges with developing countries and Japan’s

contribution to the international society (Kitamura, 1990, p. 47). During the past two

decades, Japan has been moving toward a new stage of internationalization where mutual

understanding and cooperation are highly valued. Moreover, due to the rapid expansion

of its international relations with developed and developing countries led by globalization,

the context of defining internationalization became more complex.

Examining the trends of the perspective of kokusaika in the historical context, it is

clear that the change in Japan’s stature in the world had an impact on the perspective of

internationalization. When Japan was a follower in the international community,

kokusaika meant catching up to Western countries. Once Japan gained a position as a

participant in the international community, kokusaika meant mutual understanding and

cooperation through the mutual exchange of people, cultures, ideas, and information

among various countries. Even though the implications of kokusaika has evolved, it is

important to restate Ebuchi’s observation that the object of kokusaika is always Japan

40

itself, and kokusaika is a transformation process to help Japan be accepted by the rest of

the world.

Yano (1976) describes kokusaika as a four-step process wherein the mobility of

people, the economy, knowledge, and information across borders increases.

Step 1: The need for introducing products and ideas from abroad within a country

or a society increases as the activities of the nation abroad increases;

Step 2: The issues of intercultural conflict and integration arise out of contact with

other cultures;

Step 3: The appropriate rules to associate with soto [outsiders], in other words,

other countries or cultures, are established in the country or society; and

Step 4: Citizens of the country or society become open (as cited in Kitamura,

1987, pp. 19-20)

This concept of internationalization indicates that internationalization is the

process of transforming Japanese systems and attitudes of the citizens, which was driven

by an increase in interaction between Japan and other countries. Moreover, the sequence

of the internationalization process explains that first the environment changed due to

increased international exchange, then the environmental change caused the need to

change systems, and finally, people’s attitudes and behaviors began to change.

Horie (2003) explored the meaning of internationalization in Japanese higher

education in her phenomenological study on the experience of three Japanese policy-

makers and eleven international educators regarding the national policy on international

students since the 1980’s. Her analysis on the meaning of Japanese higher education

captures the above discourse on the Japanese view of internationalization in the more

41

recent higher education context. She illustrated internationalization as a transformational

process to develop the university system relevant to a global society, identifying three

themes of the meaning of internationalization of Japanese higher education including

internationalization as (1) a process of returning university education to its original

function (improving the quality of the academic and administrative system to function in

a global society), (2) an adjustment process to the global society surrounding Japanese

universities (making universities open to the real globalizing world), and (3) an alteration

of goals of university education (setting new educational goals to help student become

competent in a global era) (Horie, 2003, pp. 105-131).

To conclude, the key concept of internationalization in terms of two frames of

reference was discussed. First, internationalization was discussed regarding how its

definition in the fields of international education and higher education has evolved to

determine its definition for this study. Second, the perception of internationalization in

Japanese cultural and social context was examined to highlight the importance of the

study context. In the next section, I discuss how internationalization of universities with

respect to organizational change has been examined in extant literature.

Studies on Organizational Internationalization

Examining the definition of internationalization in the field of higher education

revealed a shift in the perception of internationalization from a collection of international

activities with respect to research and education to systematic institutional actions toward

international issues. The study of organizational internationalization is relatively new, but

since the 1990s, there have been efforts to research the internationalization of higher

education focusing on organizational change. There have also been efforts to develop the

42

conceptual frameworks or theoretical models to gain further understanding of the

internationalization process. To establish the conceptual framework, the extant studies on

organizational internationalization of higher education institutions are examined in this

section. The essential studies on organizational internationalization during the past

decades are categorized into three types and presented below.

The first type of study identified key dimensions of higher education that promote

internationalization and performance indicators for those dimensions. There are

numerous dimensions and indicators of internationalization discussed in the literature. A

second type of study has proposed models to assess the level of internationalization based

on organizational design including policy making, implementation of the policy, and a

support system for the implementation. This type of study has focused on how

organizational design has changed toward the development of internationally oriented

universities. A third type of study expanded the scope of the internationalization process

taking into account environmental factors. This type of study has examined the

interaction between environmental factors and organizational designs.

The first category of research has identified elements of higher education that

promote internationalization. Experts in the field have proposed internationalization

components on a theoretical basis and a literature review (Davies, 1992, 1995; Ebuchi,

1989a; Mestenhauser, 2002; Paige, 2005; Paige & Mestenhauser, 1999), and some

scholars have conducted empirical studies to identify these components (Ashizawa, 2006;

de Wit & Knight, 1999; Ellingboe, 1996, 1998, 1999; Green & Olson, 2003; Knight,

2004, 2006; Knight & de Wit, 1995, 1997; Nilsson, 2003; Paige, 2003). Some

commonality exists in the set of internationalization components proposed by various

43

researchers, experts, and governments, although variations are also recognized. These

components tend to include types of international activities and designs of an

organizational system to support international activities.

Defining internationalization components provided an important conceptual

framework for the study of the internationalization process. The international components

with indicators are essential inputs along with the process that universities should

consider to develop internationally oriented institutions.

The second category of research efforts has examined how to assess

internationalization in terms of organizational design. Davies (1995) and van Dijk and

Meijer (1998) were the first researchers to attempt to develop a model to assess the

internationalization by examining the organizational system to institutionalize

international activities. In other words, they proposed that internationalization can be

assessed by examining how systematically universities promote international activities as

a whole institution.

Davies (1995) proposed two dimensions of organizational systems; policy and

support, to assess internationalization, and van Dijk and Meijer (1998) added another

dimension, implementation, by recognizing the limitation of Davies’s model. They

claimed that Davies’s model lacked the operational aspect of an organization system and

proposed a three-dimensional model called the internationalization cube (van Dijk &

Meijer, 1998, p. 45). The three dimensions are:

• Policy: the importance attached to internationalization aims - priority/marginal

• Support: the type of support for internationalization activities -

interactive/unilateral

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• Implementation: the method of implementation - systematic/ad hoc

Davies (1995) and van Dijk and Meijer (1998) proposed the developmental scale

based on the combination of either two dimensions (policy and implementation) or three

dimensions (policy, support and implementation) of organizational systems to examine

the level of internationalization of higher education institutions. They proposed that

higher education institutions could change the state of internationalization due to changes

in the organizational system. Their models provided the conceptual framework to further

study the institutional strategy of the internationalization of higher education or to gain a

better understanding of how to manage the internationalization process. Each model was

adopted by American scholars to assess the level of internationalization of universities.

Ellingboe (1999) adopted Davies’s model as a part of the conceptual framework for her

study on a comparative case study on internationalization of five liberal arts colleges in

the U.S. in the Midwest. Burriss (2006) conducted her study on the level of

internationalization at three U.S. colleges that are North East Consortium member

institutions by adopting van Dijk and Meijer’s model.

The last category of research efforts is to understand the internationalization

process in relation to changes in the environment. In 2003, the Dutch Centre for Higher

Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) initiated a research project called the Higher

Education Institutions’ Responses to Europeanisation, Internationalisation and

Globalisation (HEIGLO), which consisted of two phases. The first project was national

and a supra-national (European Commission) level policy analyses on

internationalization in seven European countries including Austria, Germany, Greece, the

Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom (Huisman & van der Wende,

45

2004). The second project studied institution-level policies and activities of

internationalization in those seven countries under the supra-national and national

environmental contexts (Huisman & van der Wende, 2005). Their study aimed to identify

and analyze higher education institutions’ response to the challenges of Europeanization,

internationalization, and globalization (Luijten-Lub, et al., 2005, p. 7). They conducted at

least five case studies, which were different in size, age, location, mission, disciplines,

and nature of organizations, in each country with document analysis and interviews.

The second project contributed to further conceptualization of internationalization

as a process of organizational change by taking into account the relationship between

organizations and their institutional environment such as regulative, normative and

cultural-cognitive systems. Their study employed W. R. Scott’s (1981) model of

institutions and organizations by claiming that there is no agreed conceptual framework

for internationalization as a process of organizational improvement, change, and

adaptation in the globalizing environment (Luijten-Lub, et al., 2005, p. 12). Their study

identified the influential institutional factors on the internationalization process of

European higher education institutions while it examined the trends of international

activities and changes in organizational structures. Furthermore, they proposed four types

of internationalization strategies by identifying the four main goals of internationalization.

In other words, the proposed international strategies suggested a conceptual framework to

explore alternative potential patterns of internationalization.

The progress toward the development of a theoretical or conceptual framework to

understand the process of internationalization at higher education institutions was evident

through reviewing the previous studies on organizational internationalization. The focus

46

of the internationalization process of higher education institutions began with

management of internal factors of organizations, and expanded to integrate external

factors to improve internal factors of organizations. Furthermore, internationalization was

studied as a developmental process from a less internationalized organizational system to

a more internationalized organizational system. Later, the internationalization process

was examined as organizational responses to the changing environment. The findings of

internationalization strategies in the HEIGLO project proposed the presence of different

types of internationalization in accordance with the institutional goals of

internationalization.

The current study further explores organizational internationalization based on the

HEIGLO project’s findings. As Teichler (2004) claims, if all higher education institutions

need to be international as well as national to function in a global knowledge society, the

internationalization process should be examined based on their own goals of

internationalization. This study aims to contribute to further understanding by focusing

on the relationship between their selected strategies and the process of

internationalization by ultimately exploring potential strategic models of

internationalization. In the next section, the conceptual framework for the present study is

discussed.

Theory of Organizational Adaptation and Internationalization Process

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the process of

internationalizing Japanese national university corporations by examining the

configuration of organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors. In this

study, internationalization is defined as the process of organizational change to adapt to

47

the changing environmental conditions. According to the notion of this definition of

internationalization, the theoretical model of Miles and Snow’s (1978) adaptive cycle was

adopted as an overarching frame of the conceptual framework for this study. First, I

discuss the concept of an open system in general systems theory, which is the

fundamental conceptualization to explain organizational adaptation. Then, I illustrate

that the adaptive cycle provides a way to examine the internationalization process

considering the relationship of organizational design, program strategies, and contextual

factors to develop internationally oriented universities.

Universities as Open Systems

The original concept of open systems in the general systems theory initiated by

biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the late 1930s has been widely applied to different

types of living systems such as biological systems, social systems, and ecosystems in

various fields. Bertalanffy identified living organisms as open systems that are self-

regulative and transformed by materials and energy continually flowing from their

environment in order to stay alive (Capra, 1996, p. 48). W. R. Scott (1981) also defined

open systems in the field of social sciences to analyze organizations: “An organization is

a coalition of shifting interest groups that develop goals by negotiation; the structure of

the coalition, its activities, and its outcomes are strongly influenced by environmental

factors” (W. R. Scott, 1981, p. 22). Viewing the university as an open system, the

university is a coalition of individuals who benefit from and contribute to the university

(i.e., students, academic staff, administrative staff, and support staff). The university’s

social structure, activities related to the university functions such as teaching, research

48

and service, and the institutional goals and mission are affected by the environment in

which the university exists.

All systems are made up of subsystems and are also subsumed into larger systems

(W. R. Scott, 1981, p. 109). In this context, the university is considered a system

consisting of different colleges, departments and units, and it is also a sub-system in

supra-systems of national and global societies. Living systems, as open systems, have

boundaries as an organization, but also interact with the environment (Capra, 1996, p.

167).

Figure 1 shows the position and interaction of the university as a sub-system with

supra-systems. Universities, as open systems, interact with the environment and maintain

or renew themselves through the process of feedback loops such as input, throughput, and

output (Katz & Kahn, 2005, p. 485).

Figure 1. Diagram of Universities as Open Systems in the Context of National and Global Societies Driven by a Knowledge-based Economy, developed by the researcher

Environment: A global society driven by knowledge-based economy

Environment: a national society within a global society

Inputs: Challenges and

opportunities the university’s vision

and mission are intended to serve

Throughput: Universities as open systems interact with the environment to maintain themselves and to change their structural characteristics toward greater complexity to survive

Intellectual Capital Knowledge and innovation

Human Capital Faculty, students and alumni as lifelong learners and innovators

Outputs:

49

As inputs, the university imports energy elements such as raw materials and signals

that are informative in character, from an external environment (inputs). Then, in

throughput, they transform it to produce new products such as innovation and knowledge

as well as human capital, which are outputs (Katz & Kahn, 2005, pp. 484-487). The

pattern of the activities of the energy exchange is cyclonical (Katz & Kahn, 2005, p. 484).

The feedback loop enables the organization system to correct broken parts or to be

transformed to survive.

Through the cyclonical process of input, throughput and output, open systems can

maintain themselves and even change their structural characteristics toward greater

complexity. According to Buckley’s argument, W. R. Scott (1981) discusses these two

basic processes of self-maintenance and evolution; morphostasis and morphogenesis.

Morphostasis refers to the process that tends to preserve or maintain a system’s given

form, structure, or state (W. R. Scott, 1981, p. 110). Morphogenesis refers to the process

that elaborates or changes the system, for example, growth, learning, and differentiation

(W. R. Scott, 1981, p. 110). Katz and Kahn (2005) explain that to adopt morphogenesis,

social organizations move in the direction of differentiation (p. 487) and move towards

the multiplication and elaboration of roles with greater specialization of function.

In sum, the self-organizing process of the university in relation to the environment

was discussed considering the university as an open system. Universities are self-

organizing systems that could institute their own direction and actions using resources

and energy from the environment. The environment triggers the structural change of the

organization, but it does not direct it.

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Japanese universities are facing new challenges and demands due to globalization

and other environmental factors. The social changes for Japanese universities described

above characterize the environment in which Japanese universities currently exist and to

which they will be exposed continuously in the future. Applying the concept of open

systems to Japanese universities, they could continually engage in adjustments in their

structures, processes, and practices to address the environmental factors. The

internationalization process is viewed as the university’s response to how to adapt to the

rapidly changing and increasingly complex global environment. In the following section,

the application of organizational adaptation to the internationalization process is

discussed in detail.

Organizational Adaptation

This study was designed based on the theory of organizational adaptation

formulated by R. E. Miles and Snow (1978). They developed a theoretical model called

the adaptive cycle to provide a deeper understanding of the process by which

organizations continuously adjust to their environments. The adaptive cycle describes the

relationships among the organizational strategy, technologies and capacities, structure

and process focusing on organizational adaptation to the environment. R. E. Miles and

Snow (2003) state:

The cycle illustrated how the choice of a given strategy essentially demanded the choice of a particular combination of technologies and capabilities. Those choices, in turn, influenced the design of organizational structures and administrative processes. Moreover, the cycle showed how the choice of structure and process to fit technology constrained future strategic decisions (p. xvi).

The adaptive cycle consists of three major problems that organizations need to

deal with continuously: entrepreneurial, engineering, and administrative problems.

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• The entrepreneurial problem is how to select an organizational domain such as a

specific product or service and a target market (R. E. Miles & Snow, 1978, p.

21).

• The engineering problem is how to “select an appropriate technology (input-

transformation-output process) for producing and distributing the chosen

products or services and to form new information, communication and control

linkages (or modify existing linkages) to ensure proper operation of the

technology” (R. E. Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 22).

• The administrative problem is how to “develop an organization structure and a

set of managerial processes to coordinate and control the selected technology,

and further, to direct those innovative activities necessary for maintaining the

organization’s continuity” (R. E. Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 153).

In general, the adaptation process can be initiated by identifying a problem among the

three major problem areas stated above; however, the process generally moves

sequentially through the entrepreneurial, engineering, and administrative phases (R. E.

Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 28).

The adaptive cycle was developed based on the concept of a strategic choice

approach formulated by theories such as Chandler (1962), Child (1972), Cyert and March

(1963) , Drucker (1954, 1974), Thompson (1967), and Weick (1969, 1977) (R. E. Miles

& Snow, 1986, p. 548). The strategic choice approach emphasizes the role of the top

decision makers in the process of adaptation to the environment. R. E. Miles and Snow

(1986) state: “This approach argues that organizational behavior is only partially

preordained by environmental conditions and that the choices which top managers make

52

are the critical determinants of organizational structure and process” (p. 548). It is

important to recognize that the effectiveness of the adaptation process highly depends on

strategic choices made by a group of decision makers based on their perceptions of the

environmental conditions and their organizations’ capabilities to cope with the

environment (R. E. Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 21).

R. E. Miles and Snow (1984) also proposed another important concept of fit in

relation to managerial strategic choices. This concept explains the impact of congruence

among strategy, structure and process on an organization’s effectiveness (R. E. Miles &

Snow, 2003, p. xviii). R. E. Miles and Snow (1986) state:

Managers make strategic choices based on their perceptions of the environment and of their organizations’ capabilities. The success of these choices rest on how well competitive strategy matches environmental conditions and whether organization structure and management processes are properly fitted to strategy (p. 63).

The concept of fit refers to how organizational strategies, structures, and management

processes fit together. R. E. Miles and Snow (2003) observed that highly successful

institutions seem to have knowledge of how those elements fit together and develop a

stronger alignment across them in a continuous manner (p. xviii).

R. E. Miles and Snow’s (1978, 1986) conceptual framework of the adaptive cycle

and fit also proposes that the patterns of organizational behaviors can be categorized into

several models. Although there are potentially as many patterns of organizational

behaviors as the number of organizations, these various patterns can be reduced to several

archetypes for competing organizations within a single industry (R. E. Miles & Snow,

1978, pp. 28-29). Their concepts are explained by the principle of equifinality and the

configuration theory. The principle of equifinality suggests that “a system can reach the

53

same final state from differing initial conditions and by a variety of paths” (Katz & Kahn,

2005, p. 488); however, the configurational theory proposed that there are only a handful

of basic ways of approaching organizational behavior. Hambrick (2003) states that,

“Strategic equifainlity is the idea that, within a particular industry or environment, there

is more than one way to prosper. But—and this is where the configurational perspective

comes in—there are not an endless number of ways to prosper. Instead, there are a

handful of basic patterns that business can select from in order to achieve their aims” (p.

ix). Adopting R. E. Miles and Snow’s (1978, 1986) conceptual framework, this study

assumed that there are only a handful of essential pathways that lead to

internationalization within Japanese higher education.

As stated above, the purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the

process of internationalizing Japanese national university corporations.

Internationalization is recognized as organizational change processes that help

institutions respond to the challenges and demands in the globalizing environment. This

definition of internationalization agrees with R. E. Miles and Snow’s (1978) concept of

the adaptive cycle. Furthermore, the adaptive cycle provides the empirical conceptual

framework of examining the internationalization process in which the process is divided

into three problems: (1) an entrepreneurial problem: determining institutional

internationalization strategies that are adequate for the environmental conditions, (2) an

engineering problem: selecting appropriate technologies for international

programs/activities related to education and research, and (3) an administrative problem:

developing an organizational structure and a set of managerial processes to coordinate

and control the selected international programs/activities. With R. E. Miles and Snow’s

54

(1986) concept of fit, investigating the configuration of organizational design, program

strategies, and contextual factors needed to develop internationally oriented universities,

the researcher is also able to explore a handful of strategic models in internationally

oriented universities based on four internationalization strategies proposed by the

HEIGLO project (van der Wende, et al., 2005, pp. 220-223). A further conceptual

framework for this study is discussed in the following section.

Development of Conceptual Framework to Examine Configuration of Organizational

Design for Internationally Oriented Universities

The conceptual framework to examine the configuration of organizational design,

program strategies and contextual factors needed to develop internationally oriented

universities consists of four phases: analysis of contextual factors, selection of

internationalization strategies, selection of technologies, and change in organizational

structure and management processes. The framework of these four phases is developed

based on entrepreneur, engineering, and administrative problems in R. E. Miles and

Snow’s (1978) adaptive cycle as explained in the former section. In this section, I discuss

how to examine each phase, reflecting the literature review on organizational

internationalization in the field of higher education and international education. I present

how the findings of the extant studies were synthesized to develop the conceptual

framework for this study.

Analysis of Contextual Factors

Contextual factors affect the selection of internationalization strategies in which

an organizational domain such as a target higher education market (global, regional or

55

national) and internationalization initiatives are determined. Three factors identified for

this study are:

• What is the institutional orientation?—teaching or research?

• What are the characteristics of the university?—size, geographic location,

predominant mission, age and subject areas offered.

• What is the primary vision of the university?—an elite university placed at the top

of the education hierarchy by recruiting the best students or a mass-market

university that increases educational provisions for many students,

The first factor, the orientation of the university, was identified as an influential

factor for the selection of an internationalization strategy as well as international

activities in the findings of the HEIGLO project. Van der Wende et al. (2005) states, “A

combination of [broader contextual] factors may promote different responses at the

organizational level or boost different types of internationalisation activities, depending

on the prominence of disciplines and the teaching or research orientation of the

institution” (p. 220).

The HEIGLO project also found that approaches toward international activities

differ due to a combination of institutional characteristics such as size, geographic

location, predominant mission, age and subject areas offered (van der Wende, et al.,

2005, p. 231). Therefore, this study includes institutional characteristics as a factor in the

selection of an internationalization strategy.

Another factor was added from Arimoto’s (2007) university vision in the 21st

century. One of his perspectives focused on the primary vision of the university within

the domestic higher education system. He saw universities as either an elite university

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placed at the top of the education hierarchy by recruiting the best students, or a mass-

market university that increases educational provisions for many students. This factor is

highly relevant to internationalization strategies proposed by van der Wende et al. (2005),

which is discussed in more detail in the next section.

Selection of Internationalization Strategies

Internationalization strategies are a plan of action to achieve particular goals of

internationalization. The HEIGLO project found that internationalization was considered

desirable or necessary for the studied European higher education institutions; however,

the rationale or goals of internationalization varied (van der Wende, et al., 2005, p. 219).

Internationalization strategies resulted from institutional discourse on how to achieve

their main goals of internationalization. The HEIGLO project identified four main

internationalization strategies by examining at least five higher education institutions per

country, in seven European countries:

• Competition: Elitism and the achievement of world-player status

• Cooperation and networking: Strengthening the regional institutional profile

• Internationalization as a means of improving the institutional profile within the

country

• Internationalization for survival (van der Wende, et al., 2005, pp. 220-223).

A summary of the four internationalization strategies and characteristics of higher

education institutions that have selected each strategy is presented in Table 1. The study

states that the four internationalization strategies are not mutually exclusive. For example,

a major national research-oriented university in the U.K. was aiming to be a global player

with worldwide standing and reputation while actively recruiting international graduate

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students. However, each strategy captured a certain trend of higher education institutions’

characteristics.

Table 1. Internationalization Strategies and Institutional Characteristics: Summary of Findings of the HEIGLO study (van der Wende, et al., 2005, pp. 219-223), created by the researcher

The higher education institutions with the strategy of competition aim to be global

players with worldwide standing and reputation. They perceive internationalization as

“being related to worldwide competition among elite universities for the recruitment of

bright, talented students, young researchers, and renowned teaching staff” (van der

Wende, et al., 2005, p. 220). A few universities took this strategy in the HEIGLO study: a

major national research-oriented university in the U.K., two major national research-

Internationalization Strategies Characteristics of Higher Education Institutions Competition: Elitism and the achievement of world-player status

• Major national research-oriented universities • Prestigious research-oriented universities

specializing in science and technology Cooperation and networking: Strengthening the regional institutional profile—particularly establishing a linkage based on geographic proximity and linguistic affinity

• Many types of higher education institutions have this strategy; it is difficult to identify common institutional characteristics

Internationalization as a means of improving the institutional profile within the country

• Teaching-oriented universities with a regional/local focus

• Universities that recently acquired university-status

Internationalization for survival (The recruitment of international students is essential to institutional existence.)

• Universities with a high international student ratio: a. export of a specific cultural product at a

university specializing in music and performing arts

b. brain gain at a major national research-oriented university

c. supplement to fulfill available seats in certain disciplines at a new teaching-oriented university with a strong regional/local focus

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oriented universities and a prestigious research-oriented, specialized university focusing

on the natural and engineering sciences alongside medicine, food and life sciences in

Germany (van der Wende, et al., 2005, p. 220).

The higher education institutions with the strategy of cooperation and networking

consider competing globally to be either out of reach or undesirable (van der Wende, et

al., 2005, p. 221). They select internationalization activities in the more traditional

academic context of cooperation and networking in research and teaching such as

research collaboration; exchanges of students, staff and practices; collaboration on the

development of academic programs; or quality assurance (van der Wende, et al., 2005, p.

221). Their networks tend to be particular regional connections based on mutual trust

developed by long-term relationships with respect to geographic, linguistic and cultural

connections (van der Wende, et al., 2005, p. 221). Since many higher education

institutions adopted this strategy, common institutional characteristics were difficult to

identify.

The universities with an internationalization strategy as a means of improving the

institutional profile within the country tend to be more regionally/locally oriented

institutions with international activities (van der Wende, et al., 2005, p. 223). Those

institutions were oriented to teaching with less involvement in basic research (van der

Wende, et al., 2005, p. 223). Moreover, some higher education institutions also linked

adding an international dimension to acquiring a higher university status (van der Wende,

et al., 2005, p. 223).

Finally, for the higher education institutions with a strategy of organizational

survival , the recruitment of foreign students is essential for their own existence (van der

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Wende, et al., 2005, p. 222). A common characteristic of these institutions is a high

international student ratio to the total student population; however, the reason each

institution selected this strategy varied due to the contextual factors of each university.

Selection of Technology

Technologies are “the combination of skills, equipment and relevant technical

knowledge needed to bring about desired transformations in materials, information or

people” (R. E. Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 256). Luijten-Lub, Huisman and van der Wende

(2005) identified education and research as the main technologies of higher education by

citing Clark’s statement:

In varying combinations of efforts to discover, conserve, refine, transmit, and apply it, the manipulation of knowledge is what we find in common in the many specific activities of professors and teachers…However broadly we define it, knowledge is the material. Research and teaching are the main technologies (Clark, 1983, p. 12).

In this study, technologies in the universities are examined with a focus on two

elements: change in the process of teaching and research and internationalization

programs/activities related to education and research. The main focus of technology is

how the process of teaching and research has changed to promote international activities

with respect to education and research. The process of teaching and research is examined

based on the findings of the HEIGLO project. To examine the change in the process of

teaching and research, international programs/activities at Japanese national university

corporations need to be identified. The categories of international programs/activities

related to research and education for this study are defined based on the extant literature.

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Change in the Process of Teaching and Research

The HEIGLO project found that European higher education institutions had

undergone many changes in the process of teaching and research due to

internationalization activities (van der Wende, et al., 2005, p. 217). Six major changes are

identified in the HEIGLO project.

• International research projects by a EU framework and funds

• Development of new bachelor’s and master’s programs

• Introduction of the European Credit Transfer System

• Development of joint and double degree programs

• Courses taught in English

• Efforts to improve the knowledge of English language of both students and

staff (van der Wende, et al., 2005, pp. 217-219).

These six indicators are not necessarily applicable to the Japanese university

context since the EU framework and funds and the European Credit Transfer System are

specific to the European region. Instead of examining these specific items, the equivalent

elements in the context of Japanese universities are examined. In addition, development

of new bachelor’s and master’s programs is occurring in European countries because the

higher education institutions in certain countries such as Norway, the Netherlands,

Germany, and Austria have tried to align programs to be in line with the Bologna

Declaration (van der Wende, et al., 2005, p. 218). This standardization is considered the

result of the regional policy, which does not apply to the Japanese context since there is a

prevalent regional policy on internationalization. Furthermore, the development of new

bachelor’s and master’s programs refers to the adoption of a new three-cycle degree

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structure (bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees), which is a similar degree model to

North America and Japan. Therefore, this indicator is not employed. The five indicators

examined in this study are shown in Figure 2. These indicators are used as a guide to

explore the question: How have teaching and research changed due to the implementation

of international activities?

International Programs/Activities Related with Education and Research

To identify the implemented internal programs/activities, five main categories

with indicators were identified based on a literature review of internationalization

components. To gain a deeper understanding of the trend of international activities, such

categorizations of international activities with indictors are useful. The reviewed

literature to determine internationalization components and their indicators includes

Ashizawa (2006), JSPS (2007), Knight (2006), Knight & de Wit (1995), NIAD-UE

(2006), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005). JSPS (2007), NIAD-UE (2006), and Watabe

(2005) were included to reflect the government initiatives on internationalization in

higher education. JSPS (2007) provides information on the government initiative to

establish the international strategy headquarters. NIAD-UE (2006) conducted the first

evaluation on international exchange activities at national universities. Watabe (2005)

conducted analysis on the Japanese government policies and initiatives on

• International research projects by alternative framework and funds • Introduction of some credit transfer system (ex. UCTS) • Development of joint and double degree programs • Courses taught in English • Efforts to improve the knowledge of English language of both students and staff

Figure 2. Indicators of Change in Teaching and Research, created by researcher Source: van der Wende et al (2005)

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internationalization of universities. The five categories of international

programs/activities related to education and research for this study are as follows: (1)

research and scholarly collaboration, (2) internationalized curricula at home, (3) study

abroad (outbound), (4) international students, and (5) cross-border delivery of education

programs. Each category of international education and research activities and indicators

is discussed below.

Research and scholarly collaboration. As recognition of universities as research

centers is increasing due to the emergence of a knowledge-based society, enhancement of

research and scholarly collaboration has become more important. Indicators of research

and scholarly collaboration suggested in the literature include published articles and

papers at the international level, international research centers with expertise in academic

fields, international research partnerships with academic and other sectors, joint research

projects, research exchange programs, and international conferences and seminars.

In this study, international development cooperation activities are considered to

be a part of research and scholarly collaboration even though the literature tends to

identify them as a separate category. In the 2006 Report of the Committee for

International Cooperation in Education issued by MEXT, the role of universities in

international development cooperations was discussed. The report states, “Universities

represent its main resource of expertise, and should be effectively utilized to contribute

Japan’s knowledge while striving to improve the quality of international development

cooperation” (MEXT, 2006, p. 9). Universities, specifically national universities that tend

to be considered research universities, are expected to participate in international

cooperation. Japanese universities are expected to utilize their academic and human

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resources to contribute to international development. Working on the international

development issues with developing countries is another form of research and scholarly

collaboration. Instead of creating another category, it is considered a part of research and

scholarly collaboration in this study. Figure 3 shows that international activities can be

found as research and scholarly collaboration.

Internationalized Curricula at Home. The literature consistently recognizes that

curricula is the most important component of internationalization efforts at universities

(Ellingboe, 1999, p. 59; Paige, 2005, p. 108). Harari (1989) states that, “the heart of the

internationalization of an institution is and will always remain its curriculum precisely

because the acquisition of knowledge, plus analytical and other skills, as well as the

conduct of research, is what a university is primarily all about” (p.3). Paige (2005) also

argues that, “the curriculum is the embodiment of a university’s philosophy of what

higher education means” (p. 108). If the university provides teaching and learning

international in character, the value of internationalization will prevail in its campus

community, and students will leave the university with various international learning

opportunities (Paige, 2005, p. 108).

Literature discusses two types of internationalized curricular at home: academic

• Area and international theme centers • Joint research/international development

projects • International conferences and seminars

on campus • Research exchange programs

• International research/international development agreements

• International research grants and contracts • Visiting lectures and scholars • Published articles and papers at the

international level

Figure 3. Indicators of Research and Scholarly Collaboration, created by researcher Source: Ashizawa (2006), JSPS (2007), Knight (2006), Knight & de Wit (1995), NIAD-UE (2006), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005)

64

curricular and extra-curricular areas. Indicators of academic curricula areas suggested in

the literature include international majors such as area studies, international studies, and

foreign language studies, international minors, international courses as requirements,

studying a second language as a requirement, establishment of a committee for

internationalizing curriculum, and resources for faculty members to develop international

curriculum such as workshops, funding, and time. In terms of second language,

improving English language programs is particularly emphasized due to the recognition

of English as the lingua franca in Japanese universities. Having courses and degree

programs taught in English is also one of the indicators of internationalized curricula in

Japanese universities.

Internationalized extra-curricular areas refer to international activities related with

campus life. The indicators suggested in the literature include student organizations,

international and intercultural campus events and programs, and establish close link with

community-based cultural and ethnic groups. Figure 4 shows that the activities that relate

to internationalized curricular areas at home.

A. Academic Curricular Areas • Majors and minors that are international in

character • International course requirements as core

curriculum • Courses taught in English • Foreign language courses • Institutional initiatives to internationalize

curriculum (i.e., a committee specifically for curriculum internationalization and resources to develop international curriculum)

B. Extra-curricular Areas • International student clubs and

associations • International and intercultural

campus events per year • Peer support groups and

programs • Liaison with community based

cultural and ethnic groups

Figure 4. Indicators of Internationalized Curricular at Home, created by researcher Source: Ashizawa (2006), JSPS (2007), Knight (2006), Knight & de Wit (1995), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005)

65

Study Abroad (Outbound). The ratio of students studying abroad to the total

student population was 2.1%3 in 2005 throughout Japanese universities even though the

number increased from 18,066 in 1983 to 80,023 in 2005 (MEXT, 2008). The number of

students studying abroad is still limited. There were very few government initiatives to

send Japanese students abroad compared with initiatives to receive international students.

Recently, the issue of study abroad is gaining more attention, and MEXT initiated some

interventions to increase the number of Japanese students studying abroad. Yokota,

Tsuboi, Shiratsuchi, Ota and Kudo (2006) conducted a survey on international student

exchange at Japanese universities in 2005. They collected surveys from 342 out of 717

universities and found that national universities are not very active in study abroad

programs, but have begun to support study abroad initiatives (Yokota, et al., 2006, p.

107).

The indicators of study abroad suggested in the literature include a variety of

study abroad programs, study abroad as a requirement, exchange agreements with foreign

universities, the presence of a study abroad office and professional staff, orientation and

programs to support students who go on study abroad programs, and scholarships. In

terms of types of study abroad programs, new forms of study abroad programs are

emerging including establishing inter-university affiliations such as joint programs,

double-degree programs, and consortium programs. Another issue is the establishment of

a credit transfer system. According to a survey conducted by Yokota et al. (2006), 25% of

3 Students studying abroad/the total student population in higher education =80,023/3,839,174=2.1% The source of data are from “Outline of Student Exchange System in Japan” by MEXT 2008 and “School Statistics” by MEXT 2009.

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Japanese universities expressed difficulty in qualifying for credit earned in a study abroad

program (p. 107). Figure 5 shows that international activities can be found as study

abroad (outbound) initiatives.

International Students. International students have been a primary means for the

internationalization of universities in Japan. Internationalization of universities began

with the 1983 proposal entitled “Plan to Accept 100,000 Foreign Students,” and it has

been promoted by expanding the international student population. The number of

international students increased from 10,428 in 1983 to 123,829 in 2008. The number of

international students, however, decreased in 2006: a 3.2 % decrease from the number in

2005 and began increasing again in 2007 with a 0.5% increase from 2006 and 4.5%

increase from 2007 (JASSO, 2008 ). In spite of this increase in the international student

population, the ratio of international students to the total student population in higher

education was still only 3.3% in 2007 compared with 12.4 % in Germany and 11.8% in

France in 2006 (MEXT, 2008, p. 7).

As the number of international students increases, several financial, academic,

and social programs and infrastructure to support international students to study at

• Study abroad programs for academic credit • Non-academic programs abroad (e.g., internship programs) • Faculties/colleges with study abroad requirements • Study abroad exchange agreements with/without a tuition waiver system • Institutional scholarships and awards for domestic students • Adoption of a credit transfer scheme (ex. UCTS) • Joint and double degree programs • Existence of a study abroad office and study abroad advisors

Figure 5. Indicators of Study Abroad (Outbound), created by researcher Source: Ashizawa (2006), JSPS (2007), Knight (2006), Knight & de Wit (1995), NIAD-UE (2006), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005)

67

Japanese universities have been implemented under the government initiative. In the

2005 survey on international student exchange at Japanese universities, Yokota et al.

(2006) identified eleven issues regarding receiving international students at universities.

The top issue was low Japanese language proficiency of international students. Forty-five

percent of universities recognized the issue (Yokota, et al., 2006, p. 67). The next top

four issues were related to the university’s cost to receive international students:

difficulty in securing housing, high demand for administrative offices, high financial cost,

and additional responsibility for faculty (Yokota, et al., 2006, p. 67). Due to demographic

changes in Japan, it is important to explore what international students mean to the

universities and what initiatives they are taking to have international students on campus.

Figure 6 shows the international activities to recruit international students.

Cross-border delivery of education programs. Cross-border delivery of education

programs is not currently prioritized among international activities at Japanese

universities. In the 2005 survey of internationalization and international exchange at

Japanese universities, Yokota et al. (2006) reported that only two national university

• Recruitment strategy for international students

• Entrance examinations conducted overseas

• Admission office entrance selection procedures

• Institutional scholarships and awards for international students

• Tuition deduction for international students

• Professional Japanese as a second language program on campus for international students

• Exchange programs for academic credit • Study abroad exchange agreements

with/without tuition waiver systems • Credit transfer scheme (ex. UCTS) • Joint and double degree programs • International student office and

international advisors Figure 6. Indicators of International Students, created by researcher Source: Ashizawa (2006), JSPS (2007), Knight (2006), Knight & de Wit (1995), NIAD-UE (2006), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005)

68

corporations and six private universities provided education programs overseas and one

national university corporation, one public university and seven private universities

imported educational programs (pp. 29-30). In terms of establishing brunch campuses

overseas, one national university corporation and seven private universities implemented

this initiative. However, more than 50% of flagship universities4 considered these

initiatives to be either very important or somewhat important. In terms of exporting

education programs, 62.6% of flagship universities considered it important (29.2%, very

important; 33.3%, somewhat important); regarding importing education programs, 58.3%

considered it important (25%, very important; 33.3%, somewhat important); regarding

establishing a branch campus, 62.5% consider it important (12.5%, very important; 50%,

somewhat important). Cross-border delivery of education programs is another emerging

international education activity. Figure 7 shows the international activities for cross-

border delivery of education programs.

Changes in an Administrative System: Organizational Structure, Management Process

and Participants

R. E. Miles and Snow (1978) illustrated an administrative system that is

composed of an organizational structure and a set of managerial processes (p. 153). I

examined how the organizational structure and managerial processes could coordinate

4 In the study, 26 universities were identified as flagship universities in Japan. Twenty four out of 26 universities participated in this study.

• Offshore programs (e.g., branch campus, satellite campus, online programs, etc).

Figure 7 Indicators of Cross-Border Delivery of Education Programs, created by the researcher Source: Ashizawa (2006), JSPS (2007), Knight (2006), Knight & de Wit (1995), NIAD-UE (2006), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005)

69

and manage the selected international programs/activities and further direct future

innovative internationalization efforts. Indicators to examine the organizational structure

and managerial processes were based on the literature review of internationalization

components, studies on assessing internationalization in terms of organizational strategy.

In terms of indicators for organizational structures, the reviewed literature includes

Ashizawa (2006), Davies (1995), Knight (2006), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005). In

terms of indicators for the managerial process, the reviewed literature includes Davies

(1995), van Dijk (1995) and van Dijk & Meijer (1998).

Organizational Structure

Dimensions of organizational structure discussed in the literature includes an

infrastructure to support international activities, systems for communication and financial

support and resource allocation systems. Figure 8 shows the structural changes to

promote and support international activities.

Management process

The management process concerns how to coordinate the implementation of the

• International strategy planning office or a campus-wide committee or task force for internationalization efforts

• International relations offices at central levels • The tasks of these offices: mainly involved in

the administration of international activities or involved in policy-making and actively expanding the internationalization activities in the university

• Organizations of these offices and cross-office/departmental cooperation and networking

• Systems for communicating international activities

• Integration of international activities into institution-wide and departmental planning, budgeting and quality reviews

• Efforts for external funding • Financial support and resource

allocation systems • International linkages, partnerships

and networks

Figure 8. Indicators of Organizational Structure, created by the researcher Source: Ashizawa (2006), Davies (1995), Knight (2006), Paige (2005), and Watabe (2005)

70

selected international research and education programs/activities as well as how to direct

programs/activities for maintaining the university’s permanence. Indicators of

management process relate to how decision-making committees are structured and how

the committees processe internationalization efforts. This issue is related to a centralized

or decentralized model to promote and manage internationalization. The following

questions were used to investigate management process (Figure 9).

Participants

Besides organizational structure and management process, the researcher

interviewed participants to examine administrative systems in the universities. The

HEIGLO project examined the change in participants as a part of internal factors of

organizational change according to W. R. Scott’s (1981) organizational model. Moreover,

existing models of a configurational approach typically include people as elements

(Snow, Miles, & Miles, 2005, p. 434). Participants are defined as “those individuals who,

in return for a variety of inducements, make contributions to the organization” (W. R.

Scott, 1981, p. 16). In the context of higher education, the main participants include

academic staff, management staff, support staff, and students (Luijten-Lub, et al., 2005,

p. 14).

Literature on internationalization components also refers to participants with

• Is the model of decision-making regarding the issue of internationalization top-down or bottom-up?

• Have internationalization tasks been implemented in a systematic or ad hoc manner? • Is there interaction between the central administration, faculty, and department levels to

implement internationalization tasks? In other words, is intra- and cross-departmental cooperation and networking enhanced?

Figure 9. Questions for Management Process, developed by the researcher Source: Davies (1995), van Dijk (1995) and van Dijk & Meijer (1998)

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different labels such as human resources and staff development. In particular, the

literature discusses the importance of qualified professionals as necessary resources to

run international relations offices. Ashizawa (2006) notes that Japanese universities lack

a system to train administrative staff as specialists (pp. 142-143). He argues that it is

important to examine whether universities both recognize the need for specialists to work

with international activities, and also develop a system to support and nurture these

specialists.

Based on the reviewed literature including Ashizawa (2006), Davies (1995),

Knight (2006), Paige (2005), Watabe (2005), and the HEIGLO project (van der Wende,

et al., 2005, pp. 214-217), the following indicators were used to examine the dynamics of

participants in the internationalization process (Figure 10). As the issue of qualified

professionals for internationalization activities was largely recognized in the literature, it

is important to investigate the roles and international skills of academic and

administrative staff members.

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Before concluding this section, it is important to discuss the issue of employment

practices regarding foreign faculty members in Japanese universities. Suh (2005) claims

that many universities have been offering only fixed-term appointments to foreign faculty

members even though the trend to abolish the fixed terms for international foreign faculty

is slowly moving forward. He states, “Japan’s prospects as an advanced nation in the 21st

century depend upon how well it can rise above the barriers of distorted nationalism to

welcome foreigners into its midst” (Suh, 2005, p. 310). He argues that changing

A. Academic and Administrative Staff • Percent of international faculty members to the total faculty population • Employment practices regarding foreign faculty members • Percent of international administrative staff to the total administrative staff • International expertise recognized in human resource policies t including recruitment and

promotion • Faculty and staff professional development activities regarding internationalization • Support/resource for international assignments such as internationalizing curricula,

international research collaboration, etc.

B. International Scholars • Number of international visiting scholars • Diversity in country of origin of international visiting scholars • Roles of international visiting scholars: only research, teaching a course, providing

workshops, etc.

C. International Students • Percent of international student population to the total student population • Diversity in country of origin of international students • Reasons for recruiting international students: economic reason, academic reason,

political reason

D. Domestic students studying abroad • Percent of domestic students studying abroad • Diversity in countries where they studying abroad • Opportunities for domestic students studying abroad to be resource for internationalizing

the university Figure 10. Indicators of Participants, created by the researcher Source: Ashizawa (2006), Davies (1995), Knight (2006), Paige (2005), Watabe (2005), and van der Wende et al (2005)

73

employment practices for foreign faculty members, particularly those who have the status

of permanent alien, to provide equal opportunities to Japanese faculty members will

contribute to the internationalization of Japan. It is important to explore how the studied

national university corporations have changed employment practices regarding foreign

faculty members and the ratio of international student population to the total student

population if it is possible.

In this section, I presented the conceptual framework to examine the configuration

of organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors needed to develop

internationally oriented universities. The framework consists of four phases: analysis of

contextual factors,

selection of internationalization strategies, selection of technologies, and change in the

organizational structure and management process. Figure 11 presents the summarized

conceptual framework.

74

Internationalization Strategies • Competition: Elitism and the achievement of world player status • Cooperation and networking: Strengthening the regional institutional profile • Internationalization for survival • Internationalization as a means of improving the institutional profile within the country

Technology to develop and provide education and research

What strategy is selected to match contextual factors?

What internationalization activities have been selected for the selected internationalization

strategy? How has teaching and research changed due to international activities?

How has the administrative system changed to fit the selected internationalization activities?

Figure 11. Conceptual Framework of the Configuration of Organizational Design, Program Strategies and Contextual Factors in Internationally Oriented Universities, created by the researcher

Contextual Factors • What is the institutional orientation?—teaching or research? • What is the primary vision of the university?—an elite university or a mass-market

university • What are the characteristics of the university?—size, geographic location, age, and subject

area offered.

Internationalization activities • Research and scholarly collaboration • Internationalized curricula at home

� Academic curriculum � Extra-curricular programs

• Study abroad • International students • Cross-border delivery of education

programs

Changing process of education and research • Introduction of some transfer credit system

(ex. UCTS) • Joint and double degree programs • Courses taught in English • Efforts to improve English language

knowledge of both students and staff • International research projects by alternative

framework and funds

Administrative System

Structure and Process • Organizational structure • Management process

Participants • Academic and administrative staff • International scholars • International students • Domestic students studying abroad

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Discussion

For the past decade, discussions on internationalization of higher education have

evolved. The discourse to define the term, internationalization, in the context of higher

education began in the 1980s and evolved in the 1990s taking into account globalization

as an external factor that impacts higher education institutions. Internationalization began

to be recognized as a strategy to respond to the changing demands of globalization, and

the definition of internationalization began to refer to the process of how to make higher

education systems more responsive to the rapidly changing environment. Therefore,

recognition that internationalization requires a systemic approach, referring to

organizational strategies such as university leadership and governance, emerged more

recently, and the internationalization of higher education began to be examined as

organizational change.

A review of the extant literature regarding the organizational internationalization of

higher education reveals that there have been efforts to develop conceptual frameworks

and empirical studies to understand the phenomenon of internationalization at the

institutional level. Although the research is growing, a deeper understanding of the

internationalization process is still developing. One of the most prominent efforts to

understand internationalization as organizational change is to identify internationalization

components, which include the elements of higher education promoting

internationalization. There are various proposed models of internationalization

components that share some commonality, but have variations. The most important

contribution of the models of internationalization components is to provide the menus of

internationalization strategies for higher education institutions to choose from according

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to their organizational mission and goals. In other words, internationalization components

could vary across higher education institutions.

More recently, studies on organizational internationalization with a relationship to

the environmental factors have emerged and enlarged the scope of the

internationalization process. The HEIGLO research project examined European higher

education institutions’ responses to the challenges of Europeanization,

internationalization, and globalization. This study took into account three elements of the

environment: regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive systems and examined the

relationship between the selected organizational internationalization strategies and

environmental factors. This study provides the notion that the selection of

internationalization strategies is affected by changes in the environment.

The number of studies on organizational internationalization is still limited, but is

definitely growing. Nevertheless, the research approaches to develop an understanding of

the internationalization process as organizational change varies, and the scope to examine

the phenomenon of internationalization is beginning to expand. Major studies on

organizational internationalization at the institutional level, however, have mainly been

conducted at higher education institutions in North America and European countries.

Regarding Japanese universities, there is limited research focusing on internationalization

as organizational change, which is different from documenting the best practices.

The current study specifically examines cases of internationalization processes of

Japanese national university corporations. Moreover, this study examines the process by

focusing on the configuration of organizational design, program strategies and contextual

factors of internationally oriented universities. This approach allows the researcher to

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examine a holistic picture of organizational internationalization since it provides a way to

examine internal systemic changes in relation to contextual factors. In this approach,

organizational design is divided into organizational strategy, technology, and an

administrative system. It then examines how these internal elements interact with each

other, and how these elements interact with the contextual factors.

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CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

Selected Mode of Inquiry and Rationale

This study aimed to develop an understanding of the internationalization

processes by studying how and why Japanese national university corporations are

different or similar in their internationalization strategies, activities, and administrative

systems. The main objective of the study is to explore a strategic model in internationally

oriented universities in Japan by examining the configuration of the organizational

design, program strategies, and contextual factors needed to develop internationally

oriented universities. These processes are explored from the perspective of senior leaders,

faculty, and administrative support staff who have been in positions involved in the

decision-making process of institutional internationalization efforts. To investigate the

stated purpose of the study, three research questions are addressed:

• How and why are three Japanese national university corporations different or

similar in their internationalization strategies?

• How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in

their international programs/activities for the selected internationalization

strategy? Why?

• How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in

an administrative system including organizational structure, management

process and participants to implement selected international activities? Why?

The best approach to answer these research questions is a case study methodology

with a qualitative mode of inquiry since this study focuses on a holistic and richly

descriptive analysis of the internationalization processes at three exemplary Japanese

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national university corporations that are actively promoting institutional-wide

internationalization. The purpose of qualitative research is to explore the process,

meaning, and understanding of social phenomena, so that it focuses its description on a

holistic picture examining things and their interrelations within natural contexts

(Creswell, 2002; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 1990). By contrast, quantitative research

examines a theory to be tested by specifying narrow hypotheses (Creswell, 2002)

Furthermore, there is a fundamental difference in the researcher’s worldview

between quantitative and qualitative approaches. Guba and Lincoln (2004) discuss how a

basic belief system or worldview guides researchers to design, conduct, and analyze a

study ontologically and epistemologically. Quantitative researchers take a positivistic

worldview, in which “the social world is patterned and therefore predictable” (Hesse-

Biber & Leavy, 2004, p. 7). These researchers test the propositional hypothesis to

understand a phenomenon since they perceive that the social world can be measured by

examining independent entities (Guba & Lincoln, 2004, p. 25). In contrast, qualitative

researchers conduct a study from a wide variety of worldviews including “the traditional

positivistic conception, but also the relativist, standpoint, postmodern, poststructural,

ethnomethodology, phenomenology and interpretive positions” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy,

2004, p. 7). These researchers aim to produce rich description and interpretation of a

phenomenon because they are interested in understanding the phenomenon from the

participants’ perspectives (Merriam, 1998, pp. 6-7).

My research interest is to gain a holistic understanding of the internationalization

process from the perspective of key actors including senior leaders, faculty, and

administrative support staff, who have been involved in the decision-making processes

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concerning institutional internationalization activities at Japanese universities. My

worldview as it relates to this research is interpretive rather than positivistic as Merriam

(1998) describes:

In interpretive research, education is considered to be a process and school is a lived experience. Understanding the meaning of the process or experience constitutes the knowledge to be gained from an inductive, hypothesis- or theory-generating (rather than a deductive or testing) mode of inquiry (Merriam, 1998, p. 4). Furthermore, I examined the organizational phenomenon of internationalization

from a social constructionist perspective in which understanding of the world is

subjective meanings of individual experiences constructed and often negotiated socially

and historically through interaction with others (Creswell, 2002, p. 8). With the

ontological view in which reality is discerned through individual lived experiences, I did

not attempt to verify the multiple stories on the issue of internationalization told by

multiple stakeholders of organizations, but I attempted to explain the meaning of

convergent and divergent proportions of the stories (Bess & Dee, 2008b, p. 60). To

enhance this type of data analysis process, I developed the conceptual framework based

on the findings of previous studies about organizational internationalization of higher

education as well as from a theoretical model of organizational adaptation by R. E. Miles

and Snow’s (1978). The pre-designed conceptual framework guided me through the data

reduction process. The details on use of the conceptual framework in this study will be

discussed in the research design section.

In this study, I investigated how and why each institution is trying to develop an

internationally oriented university. I aimed to develop an understanding of organizational

internationalization with a rich description of each exemplary case and cross-case

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analysis of the three cases through the participants’ lenses. After stating that this study is

interpretive with a social construction paradigm, I move to the next section to explain the

rationale for selecting a case study methodology for this study by highlighting the main

features of the case study methodology.

Case Study

This study employed a multiple-design case study methodology using both

interviews and document analysis as data collection methods. Case studies are used

across various disciplines including law, medicine, psychology, social work, political

science, business, journalism, economics, and anthropology. They have also been

employed in the field of education prevalently for the last thirty years to study

educational practices focusing on individuals such as students and teachers, innovative

activities and programs, schools, and policies (Merriam, 1998, p. 34). Across disciplines,

case studies have been employed when researchers are interested in understanding

complex social phenomena (Yin, 2002, p. 2). Creswell (2002) illustrates what the case

study methodology is by capturing its main features:

Case studies, in which the researcher explores in depth a program, an event, an activity, a process or one or more individuals. The case(s) are bounded by time and activity, and researchers collect detailed information using a variety of data collection procedures over a sustained period of time (p. 15).

Creswell illustrates three main features of the case study: (1) the intent of case

studies, (2) unit of analysis, and (3) data collection methods. Each feature is discussed

and the rationale for selecting a case study methodology for this study is provided.

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Intent of Case Studies: Describe and Interpret

The first feature of the case study methodology is the intent of case studies which

is to describe and interpret a single phenomenon or unit holistically and intensely.

Merriam (1988) defines the case study in terms of its end product as “an intensive,

holistic description and analysis [Italics added] of a single instance, phenomenon or

social unit” (p. 27).

Denscombe (2003) emphasizes that the value of the case study is that “it offers

the opportunity to explain why certain outcomes might happen—more than just find out

what those outcomes are” (p. 31). Merriam (1998) states that case study researchers focus

on “insight, discovery, and interpretation of the phenomenon rather than hypothesis

testing” (p. 29). In other words, case studies are appropriate for examining the process or

the interaction [italics added] of important elements of a phenomenon rather than

identifying outcomes or prevalence of a phenomenon. Sanders (1981) notes that “case

studies help us to understand processes of events, projects, and programs and to discover

context characteristics that will shed light on an issue and object” (p. 44).

As stated above, the purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the

internationalization processes by examining the interaction of three factors,

organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors that help develop

internationally oriented universities in Japan. The intent of this study matches the intent

of the case study methodology described above. This study seeks to present a holistic

description and analysis of the phenomenon of internationalization at three national

university corporations in Japan. To examine the holistic phenomenon of

internationalization, the main research questions of this study are how and why rather

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than what. Yin (2002) claims that case studies have an advantage of answering both how

and why research questions (p. 9). While the study identified what internationalization

efforts have been made in terms of organizational design and program strategies as

evidence, the emphasis of this study was primarily to investigate and analyze how and

why the sampled Japanese universities selected particular internationalization strategies,

activities and administrative systems and to discover how these three factors,

organizational design, program strategies, and contextual conditions, interact with each

other.

To examine each university’s approach to organizational internationalization, an

in-depth description of context conditions in each university is essential. In other words,

this study attempted to focus on a particular phenomenon, organizational

internationalization, within the context of Japanese national university corporations. The

case study is an appropriate strategy of inquiry when a unit of analysis does not have

clear boundaries between a phenomenon and a context. Yin (1993) states that “you would

use the case study method because you deliberately wanted to cover contextual

conditions—believing that they might be highly pertinent to your phenomenon of study”

(p. 13). In this study, contextual conditions are considered to be a factor that affects the

phenomenon of internationalization. Since this study must cover both the phenomenon

and the context, the case study is the most applicable strategy of inquiry for this study.

A Unit of Analysis: A Case

The second feature of the case study methodology is that in case studies, a unit of

analysis is a case. Cases studied by researchers might be an individual or individuals, a

group such as a class, a school, a community, a program, and a policy. Smith (1978)

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defined a case as a bounded system, and Merriam elaborated (1998) by describing it as “a

thing, a single entity, a unit around which there are boundaries” (p. 27). M. B. Miles and

Huberman (1994) defines the case as “a phenomenon of some sort occurring in a

bounded context” (p. 25). Merriam (1998) describes the characteristics of boundedness of

the case:

If the phenomenon you are interested in studying is not intrinsically bounded, it is not a case. Once technique for assessing the boundedness of the topic is to ask how finite the data collection would be, that is, whether there is a limit to the number of people involved who could be interviewed or a finite amount of time for observation. If there is no end actually or theoretically, to the number of people who could be interviewed or to observations that could be conducted, then the phenomenon is not bounded enough to qualify as a case (pp. 27-28).

A phenomenon or entity that the researcher is interested in needs to be intrinsically

bounded, and a case needs to be particular enough to have a boundary physically or

theoretically. Shaw (1978) illuminates that case studies “concentrate attention on the way

particular groups of people confront specific problems, taking a holistic view of the

situation. They are problem centered, small scale, entrepreneurial endeavors” (p. 2).

In this study, the researcher is interested in the emerging phenomenon of

organizational internationalization of national university corporations in Japan. The

selected universities are recognized as those that have been making efforts to be

transformed into more internationally oriented universities. This study focused on how

the internationalization process has been promoted specifically from the perspectives of a

group of senior leaders, faculty, and administrative support staff members who have been

involved in the decision-making process on institutional internationalization activities. As

described above, the phenomenon the researcher studied was intrinsically, physically, and

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theoretically bound. Organizational internationalization of the selected universities was a

particular phenomenon, and it was appropriate to be defined as a case.

Uniqueness in Data Collection Methods

The third feature of case study methodology is its uniqueness in data collection

methods compared with other methodologies. Denscombe (2003) indicates that one of the

strengths of the case study methodology is that “it [case study methodology] allows the

researcher to use a variety of sources, a variety of types of data and a variety of research

methods as part of the investigation” (p. 31). Yin (2002) pointed out that case studies can

be described and analyzed based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative evidence (p. 15).

He identifies two advantages of the use of multiple sources of evidence in case studies.

First, it allows the researchers to explore a broader range of complex issues in social

sciences. Second, it allows them to make research findings more convincing and valid by

examining evidence from multiple sources and developing “converging lines of inquiry”

(Yin, 2002, p. 98).

The issue of organizational internationalization is a complex phenomenon. To

investigate the process of organizational internationalization, this study collected

information from multiple sources by employing two data collection methods: interview

and document analysis. These methods allowed the researcher to examine what evidence

of internationalization exists and how internationalization has been promoted and

implemented to attain a holistic picture of organizational internationalization. This

approach resulted in more valid findings because the researcher collected data from

multiple sources including various documents and interviews with multiple stakeholders

and then investigated any convergence of data.

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Research Design

Multiple-case Design

This study adopted the multiple-case design. The objective of this study is to

understand the internationalization process as an emerging typical response to the

changing circumstances and conditions in which universities exist. The three studied

national universities were selected as representative cases of promoting

internationalization. As Yin (2002) suggested, a few cases (2 or 3) should be designed to

pursue a particular phenomenon (p. 47). Insights from this study based on these cases are

expected to be instructive to the internationalization process of other universities.

Participant Selection

Participant selection was a two-phase process: institutional selection and

individual selection. To select both institutional and individual participants, purposeful

sampling was adopted. The objective of purposeful sampling is to “select a sample from

which the most can be learned” since the research aimed to discover and understand

insights about the phenomenon (Merriam, 1998, p. 61). Bogden and Bikeln (1982) state,

“You choose particular subjects to include because they are believed to facilitate the

expansion of the developing theory” (p. 67). Patton (1990) clarifies that “the logic and

power of purposeful sampling lies in selecting information-rich cases for study in depth.

Information-rich cases are those from which one can learn a great deal about issues of

central importance to the purpose of the research, thus the term purposeful sampling” (p.

169).

The purpose of this study was to examine the configuration of the organizational

design, program strategies, and contextual factors needed to develop internationally

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oriented universities. Adopting R. E. Miles and Snow’s (1978) theory of the adaptive

cycle and fit, this study focused on how organizational administrative systems have

changed in accordance with a selected internationalization strategy. In addition,

according to the strategic choice approach that was integrated into the theory of adaptive

cycle, this study took into consideration the importance of the role of a group of decision-

makers with respect to internationalization.

The first phase of participant selection was selecting exemplary universities with

regard to organizational internationalization. I selected three national university

corporations from 19 universities that were selected for an internationalization initiative

launched by MEXT in 2005. The 19 selected universities recently established an

international strategy office to plan and promote university-wide international activities.

They also had a large international student population compared to other universities in

Japan. These universities are information-rich cases that could help us gain a deeper

understanding of the internationalization process.

The three studied universities were selected among 19 universities according to

their accessibility. After consulting with a prominent Japanese scholar in the field of

higher education, I came to the conclusion that convenience sampling for the selection of

the final three cases would be more appropriate and realistic. Since an organizational

study could be considered a highly sensitive topic, it was essential to have an

intermediary who was willing to introduce the researcher to university members. I was

able to find this person for the three selected universities. Although the three universities

were chosen based on convenience sampling in the end, they are identified some of the

most exemplary cases. After examining the characteristics of the 19 universities

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presented in Table 2, two criteria appeared to be important: being national university

corporations and key prioritized research universities.

Table 2. Characteristics of 19 Universities Selected for a Governmental Initiative of International Strategy Offices University Types Number of Universities

National 15

Non-national (Public & Private) 4

University Categories Number of Universities

Key prioritized research 13

Non-key prioritized research 6

The first criterion of national universities was taken into account since 15 out of

the 19 universities are national university corporations. Furthermore, Yokota et al.’s

(2006) study on internationalization and international exchange at Japanese universities5

reported that about 40% of participating national university corporations have a clear

vision of internationalization and have established international strategy headquarters. In

contrast, about 15% of participating private and public universities have a clear vision of

internationalization and only about 7% of private universities and 8% of public

universities have established an international strategy headquarters (Yokota, et al., 2006,

p. 23 & 25).

The second criterion was that they had to be key prioritized research universities6

because 13 out of the 19 universities belong to this university category. Moreover, this

type of university is one that tends to be most interested in internationalization under the

5 362 out of 717 universities participated in this study: 65 out of 95 national university corporations, 49 out of 64 public universities, 246 out of 558 private universities and two universities with their unidentified categories. 6 To identify key prioritized research universities, Yonezawa’s (2007) criteria of flagship universities in Japan and Amano’s (2004) criteria of key prioritized national research universities in Japan were used.

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current university reform. Three key prioritized national university corporations were

selected from three different types of national universities due to their historical

development: a former imperial university, an amalgamated university, and a specialized

university. A former imperial university was established as a comprehensive university

with the role of regional academic center (Amano, 2008, p. 9). National amalgamated

universities were established as educational centers in each prefecture (Amano, 2008, p.

9). Pseudo names were used for each university to indicate their type of national

university in Japanese: Old Teikoku University (a former imperial university), Fukugo

University (a national composite university), and Tanka University (a specialized

university). Basic information on the three studied cases is presented in Table 3. Detailed

information will be discussed in individual case chapters below.

Table 3. Basic Information on the Three Studied Cases

Old Teikoku Univ. Fukugo Univ. Tanka Univ. Size # of students # of academic staff # of admin. support staff

17,847 2,655 2,408

15,590 1,626 1,365

6,476

427 170

Types of universities An imperial university

A national amalgamated university

A specialized university

Int’l students % of total students

7%

5%

9%

Studying abroad % of total students

0.9%

1.2%

1.4%

Int’l faculty % of total faculty

3.7%

3.7%

4.6%

The second phase was to select the individual participants based on purposive

sampling. The criteria for individual participants included senior leaders, faculty

members, and administrative support staff members who had been in positions involved

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in the decision-making process in university-wide internationalization activities. In

general, these individuals were or had been members of the university-wide councils or

committees for international exchange matters. In terms of faculty members, these

individuals also tended to be directors of university-wide international education or

research centers, academic department chairs, or faculty members specializing in

international exchange and education. The administrative support staff members were

typically in managerial positions at international affairs offices.

As an outsider, it was difficult for the researcher to determine who had rich

information for this study within the studied universities. Therefore, the purpose of the

study and the criteria of individual participants were presented to the intermediaries at the

studied universities, and they provided a list of potential participants and introduced me

to each participant. Only one potential participant at Old Teikoku University did not

respond to the request for an interview. The positions and number of interview

participants are presented in Table 4. There were seventeen participants at both Old

Teikoku University and Fukugo University and only six participants at Tanka University

due to its smaller size for a total of 40 interviewees.

Table 4. Interview Participants at Three Studied Universities

Participant Positions Old Teikoku Univ. Fukugo Univ. Tanka Univ.

Senior leaders 3 2 1

Faculty members 10 8 4 Administrative support staff members 4 7 1

Total 17 17 6

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Data Collection Methods

Two data collection techniques were employed for this case study: interviews and

document analyses. The primary instrument was one-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured

interviews to understand the process of internationalization. Document analysis was

another process used to collect supplementary data to identify evidence of


Using one-to-one, one hour to one and half hours interviews, senior

administrators, faculty members, and administrative support staff members were asked a

variety of semi-structured and open-ended questions regarding the internationalization

processes in their universities. Interviewing key stakeholders in institutional efforts

around internationalization allowed the researcher to access privileged information

(Denscombe, 2003). The semi-structured and open-ended questions also allowed the

researcher to discuss the addressed questions or issues extensively and to fully explore

participants’ thoughts (Denscombe, 2003; Merriam, 1998).

Two types of interview questions were prepared considering the different types of

positions relevant to the internationalization process. One set of questions was for

individuals involved in councils or committees for international exchange while the other

set of questions was for individuals working in units related to international exchange and

education who could have been involved in international committees. If they were

actively involved in international committees, the first set of questions was also used for

the latter group. Overall, the content of the questions were similar, but the way the

questions were prepared and asked was appropriate to each type of position. The

interview questions are included in Appendix F.

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The interview protocol included questions specific to how and why

internationalization was promoted at the three studied universities. The questions

included the following areas: (a) selection of a major internationalization strategy, (b)

selection of internationalization activities related to education and research and change in

the processes of teaching and research, (c) change in the administrative system such as

organizational structure, management processes and participants. The research design to

link interview questions to research questions and the conceptual framework is presented

in Appendix G. The interview questions were tested and refined through a pilot study.

The pilot participants included a former administrative support staff member and two

faculty members who were involved in international exchange activities at Japanese

universities other than the selected case universities.

The primary purpose of the document analysis was to examine evidence of

internationalization efforts at the selected universities. In addition, the analysis was used

to obtain background and contextual information to thoroughly investigate the processes

of organizational internationalization at each university. Examined documents included

the following: (1) the university catalog, website and mission statement; (2) institutional

strategic planning documents; (3) internationalization strategies; (4) self-evaluation and

external-evaluation reports on international exchange and cooperation activities; and (5)

some documents regarding international activities. The list of documents for each

university is included in Appendix D. Japanese government policy documents were also

examined since the Japanese higher education system has been highly centralized and the

government policy has an impact on institutional strategies toward internationalization.

The examined government policy documents are listed in Appendix C.

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Conceptual Framework Guiding this Study

The conceptual framework was developed to guide the researcher to conduct the

research in a consistent and systematic manner. Yin (2002) emphasizes the importance of

constructing a preliminary theory related to the study topic prior to conducting data

collection (p. 28). He describes that the research design with theoretical propositions

should become a blueprint for the study, to provide guidance for data collection and

strategies for data analysis (Yin, 2002, p. 29).

To develop a conceptual framework for this study, previous studies on

organizational internationalization were reviewed. The literature review is presented in

chapter 2. To synthesize various internationalization elements and indicators, the theory

of organizational adaptation was used. This study adopted R. E. Miles and Snow’s (1978)

theoretical model, called the adaptive cycle, as a foundation for the conceptual

framework to develop an understanding of internationalization processes by which

universities continuously adjust to their environments. The discussion and the rationale

for using the adaptive cycle in this study are presented in chapter 2. The details of

synthesizing the process of the theoretical framework on organizational

internationalization and organizational theories are also presented in the chapter 2. In

figure 11 in chapter 2, the conceptual framework for this study is summarized. Figure11

is presented again here in the methodology chapter since it was the guide for the research

procedures.

The conceptual framework (Figure 11) used to examine the configuration of

organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors of internationally

oriented universities consists of four phases: analysis of contextual factors, selection of

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Internationalization Strategies • Competition: Elitism and the achievement of world player status • Cooperation and networking: Strengthening the regional institutional profile • Internationalization for survival • Internationalization as a means of improving the institutional profile within the country

Technology to develop and provide education and research

internationalization strategies, selection of technologies, and change in organizational

structure and management processes.

What strategy is selected to match contextual factors?

What internationalization activities have been selected for a selected internationalization strategy?

How has teaching and research changed due to the international activities?

How has the administrative system changed to fit the selected internationalization activities?

Figure 11: Conceptual Framework of the Configuration of Organizational Design, Program Strategies and Contextual Factors in Internationally Oriented Universities, created by the researcher

Contextual Factors • What is the institutional orientation?—teaching or research? • What is the primary vision of the university?—an elite university or a mass-market

university • What are the characteristics of the university?—size, geographic location, age, and subject

area offered.

Internationalization activities • Research and scholarly collaboration • Internationalized curricula at home

� Academic curriculum � Extra-curricular programs

• Study abroad • International students • Cross-border delivery of education

programs

Changing process of education and research • Introduction of some transfer credit system

(ex. UCTS) • Joint and double degree programs • Courses taught in English • Efforts to improve the English language

knowledge of both students and staff • International research projects by alternative

framework and funds

Administrative System

Structure and Process • Organizational structure • Management process

Participants • Academic and administrative staff • International scholars • International students • Domestic students studying abroad

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Research Protocols

Data Collection Procedures

I began with the research groundwork by creating a list of internationalization

indicators. (See Appendix E.) I used the list as a guideline for examining the evidence of

each university’s internationalization with the presented conceptual framework. Then, I

collected all documents available on the websites of the studied universities, and I

conducted an initial document analysis before visiting each university for interviews.

Additional documents were collected during the campus visits, and information from

these documents was added to the initial document analysis.

The interview data were collected during a one-to-two week visit to each

institution in May through August in 2008. In general, I conducted one-to-one interviews

in Japanese at a site of the participant’s choice. One interview was conducted with two

participants at the same time according to their request. Two interviews were conducted

by telephone since they were not available to meet in person during my stay at the site.

The average length of an interview was one hour and twenty minutes, and all interviews

were audio-taped with the participant’s permission for later data analysis. Following each

interview, I listened to the recording and wrote notes on the ideas and questions that

emerged from the conversation. These questions were explored in interviews with the

interviewees who I assumed had information due to their position.

To set up the interviews at Old Teikoku University and Tanka University, the

intermediaries introduced me to potential participants initially through an e-mail letter

containing a description of the study and an invitation to participate. Then, I contacted the

people who had agreed to participate by e-mail and set up an interview schedule. I also e-

96

mailed the interview questions and consent form. At Fukugo University, the intermediary

scheduled all the interviews, so I did not contact any participant before the scheduled

interviews. The interview questions, consent forms, and cover letters sent to participants

were prepared in both English and Japanese; however, only the Japanese versions were

sent to the participants. The consent forms and cover letters are included in Appendices H

and I.

Coding and Data Analysis Procedures

Data analysis began before the field trip. As mentioned above, the initial

document analysis was conducted before visiting the sites to establish a foundation for

interviews so that I could clarify and expand on the participants’ statements. The data

were analyzed based on the presented list of indicators and conceptual framework to

develop internationally oriented universities in Japan (Appendix E). I made a matrix of

categories and placed evidence within these categories. After the field trip, I included

further information from additionally corrected documents. The main purpose of the

document analysis was to examine evidence of university internationalization to gain a

deeper understanding of the trends of internationalization initiatives rather than to

identify exact numbers and types of international activities.

The second stage of data analysis was data reduction of all the gathered materials

including documents and interviews. While I was interested in illustrating the uniqueness

of the internationalization process at each university, my main concern was to identify

common configurations of the internationally oriented universities. The analysis focused

on extracting the information to describe each institutional process of internationalization

and to provide empirical data to explain the emerging concepts that were shared across

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the three universities to develop internationally oriented universities. To provide

empirical data, I have quoted from both documents and interviews. In the findings

chapters, the interview quotes appear with numbers that are reference numbers made to

an individual statement. These numbers indicate a combination of the school number,

individual number, and statement number. Some quotes do not have an individual

number when the interviewee’s job category was mentioned.

For this analysis, a modified grounded theory approach was employed. The

concepts and theories were developed using a systematic analysis of the data

(Denscombe, 2003). To conduct this analysis, I established the conceptual framework

presented in Figure 11 by synthesizing the findings of previous studies. The conceptual

framework did not limit the analysis to a deductive approach; rather, it provided

guidelines to elaborate the conceptual framework with emerging concepts. In other

words, my approach for analysis was deductive as well as inductive.

First, I transcribed 30 interviews, and another graduate student from Japan

assisted with the transcription of 10 interviews. I reviewed all transcriptions while

listening to the taped conversations. Then, I began analyzing interview data with NVivo,

a computer software program. The process of data analysis was first conducted on an

individual university basis. I conducted open coding while keeping in mind the presented

conceptual framework with the three main research questions on internationalization

strategy, internationalization initiatives and change in administrative system. Then, I

synthesized the initial coded data into key categories. During this process, document

analysis data were incorporated to provide evidence for key categories.

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After conducting an individual university analysis, the results of the key

categories were compared and further synthesized to answer the three research questions

(Table 5). The three individual case analyses were written in descriptive format to

comparatively portray each process of internationalization and institutional context in

detail and highlight their unique aspects.

Table 5. Emerged Concepts based on the Conceptual Framework for Individual Case Analysis Themes from the Conceptual Framework

Key Categories

Internationalization Strategy

• Objectives and rationales of internationalization

Internationalization Initiatives

• Research • Education • University branding

Change in Administrative System

• Dominant coalition for internationalization

planning • Structure for managing international activities at

the central level • Coordination between the central administrative

system and Colleges • New actors for internationalization

After the three individual case analyses were written, the key categories were

further synthesized to develop a story line through selective coding for a cross-case

analysis. I developed the story line by connecting, abstracting, and transforming the

categories based on the relationships among them, which became five elements that have

helped develop internationally oriented universities in Japan. The five elements are:

• Development of a deliberate internationalization strategy

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• Selection of internationalization activities: distinctiveness, accessibility, and

English capacity

• Top-down and expertise-oriented steering core for internationalization

• Professionalization in international exchange and education

• Matrix structure for internationalization activities

Quality of Research Designs in Case Study

All research focuses on validity and reliability to make the final research results

trustworthy and credible. Concerns about validity and reliability can be approached

through a careful research design including conceptualization of a study, collection,

analysis and interpretation of data, and presentation of findings (Merriam, 1998, pp. 199-

200). The quality of research designs in case studies is judged according to four criteria:

construct validity, internal validity, external validity and reliability (Yin, 2002) although

Guba and Lincoln (1989) suggest other terms: confirmability, credibility, transferability

and dependability in qualitative research.

Construct validity is concerned with “the extent to which a measure used in a case

study correctly operationalizes the concepts being studied” (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996, p.

571). Yin (2002) recognizes the importance of developing a sufficiently operational set of

measures to decrease concerns about subjective judgments in data collection (p. 35). The

concept studied in this research was internationalization in three national university

corporations in Japan. To study this phenomenon, an operational set of measures were

developed based on previous studies of organizational internationalization. First, three

main factors of organizational internationalization were identified: organizational design,

internationalization program strategies, and contextual factors. To investigate each factor,

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performance indicators or exploratory questions were developed. The details in the

indicators and questions are presented in the section on conceptual framework above.

Furthermore, I provided sufficient reference to the original data in both individual case

and cross-case analyses to allow readers to discern that the findings were warranted by

the data.

Internal validity is concerned with the degree to which the research findings

match reality. Merriam (1998) states:

Internal validity deals with the question of how research findings match reality. How congruent are the findings with reality? Do the findings capture what is reality there? Are investigators observing or measuring what they think they are measuring? Internal validity in all research thus hinges on the meaning of reality” (p. 201).

Merriam (1998) states that in qualitative research, “What is being observed are people’s

constructions of reality—how they understand the world” (p. 203). In qualitative

research, human beings are the primary data collection instrument. Case study

researchers interpret reality based on collected data through their observations and

interviews. In other words, the process to describe and analyze the data involves the

researcher’s interpretation based on her “identity, background and belief” (Denscombe,

2003, p. 281).

To enhance internal validity, this study triangulated multiple data sources of

information to examine the evidence. To collect data, I used two different methods: (1)

interviews with multiple sources including senior leaders, faculty members, and

administrative support staff members involved in the internationalization processes, and

(2) access to multiple document sources including each university’s website, mission

statement, university-wide strategic planning and annual reviews, internationalization

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strategic plan and reports and brochures on internationalization activities. I also clarified

the biases that I possibly brought to this study. I present the biases in the next section on

the researcher’s role.

External validity is concerned with “the extent to which the findings of a case

study can be generalized to similar cases” (Gall, et al., 1996, p. 572). Yin (2002)

recognizes that external validity has been a major barrier in conducting case studies (Yin,

2002, p. 37); however, the intent of case studies is not to generalize the results to other

settings or individuals, but to develop a deep understanding of an individual, entity, unit,

or phenomenon (Merriam, 1998; Patton, 1990; Sanders, 1981; Schumacher & McMillan,

1989). Merriam (1998) states:

In qualitative research, a single case or small nonrandom sample is selected precisely because the researcher wishes to understand the particular in depth, not to find out what is generally true of the many (p. 208).

Some scholars argue that the notion of generalization drawn from quantitative

inquiry is not appropriate to qualitative inquiry and proposed reconceptualizations of

generalizability for qualitative inquiry including the working hypothesis, concrete

universals, naturalistic generalization, user or reader generalizability, and analytical

generalization. Merriam (1998) suggests three strategies to enhance the possibility of

generalizing the results of a qualitative study in terms of reconceptualized notions of

generalizability. The three suggested strategies are rich, thick description, typicality or

modal category, and multisite designs (Merriam, 1998, pp. 211-212).

This study examined three national university corporations in Japan that were

identified as exemplary cases of organizational internationalization. According to the

traditional notion of generalizabiliy, the findings of this study are limited to the cases of

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the universities participating in this study; however, in the reconceptualized notions of

generalizability, there is potential that this study could be applied to other situations. To

do so, first, this study provided rich, thick descriptions of each case that allow users and

readers to determine if any similarities may exist between the situation presented in the

studied cases and their own case, and if the research findings are transferable to their

case. Second, by using three cases, this study increased the diversity in the phenomenon

of internationalization.

Reliability is concerned with “the extent to which research findings can be

replicated” (Merriam, 1998, p. 205). The reason that reliability is questioned in

qualitative study is that human beings as the primary research instrument make it difficult

to produce exactly the same findings since research findings are based on the researcher’s

and participants’ construction of reality. Yin (2002) states, “The goal of reliability is to

minimize the errors and biases in a study” (p. 37). He suggests that when utilizing a case

study methodology, researchers should develop good guidelines in which all research

steps are described in an operational way to allow an auditor to repeat the procedures and

arrive at the same results (Yin, 2002, p. 39). To increase reliability, I described processes

of data collection and data analysis in detail, along with the rationale for these processes.

Researcher’s Role

In a qualitative study, researchers are the primary instrument of inquiry.

Therefore, it is essential to identify the researcher’s past experience, values, assumptions

and biases before conducting the study. My experience in working as an assistant director

of an international office and studying as an international student in the United States is

the driving force behind conducting this research. I am originally from Japan, worked at a

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college in Connecticut for three years, studied at a liberal arts college in New York for

two years, and at a large research university in Minnesota for six years. Moreover, I

completed my master’s thesis on the topic of internationalization of a Japanese national

university. I have also been involved in evaluation efforts regarding initiatives to

integrate study abroad into the curriculum at the University of Minnesota.

My experience working and learning as a foreigner in the field of international

education could affect my perception and understanding of internationalization of higher

education. I believe internationalization is an important institutional agenda that should

be prioritized in the university policy and strategic planning. Ideally, I would like to see

Japanese universities integrate international dimensions into all aspects of the university

system. However, I recognize that there are a variety of ways and reasons to

internationalize universities. Several ideal forms of internationally oriented universities

exist. By acknowledging my bias, I was very cautious not to interject my opinions on

internationalization during the processes of data collection and analysis as much as

possible.

Ethical considerations for this study also need to be addressed in this section since

as a researcher, I have an obligation to respect the rights of participants. Interviewing

may invade the participants’ privacy by asking certain questions which could embarrass

participants or make them unintentionally reveal information or thoughts (Merriam,

1998, p. 214). To protect participants’ rights, the following safeguards were

implemented. First, research permission was obtained from the University of Minnesota’s

Institution Review Board (Human Subjects, Code: 0802E26801). Second, the research

objective was articulated in the cover letter to participants. Third, the informed consent

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form was sent to participants in advance to inform them of potential risks of participating

in the study. Fourth, the interview questionnaire was sent to participants in advance.

Fifth, the rights of participants were considered first when conducting interviews and

reporting data. Sixth, interview transcriptions and reports were available to participants.

Seventh, sampled universities and individual participants were given pseudonyms or

numbers to protect their identities.

Issue of Translation

Translating quotes from one language to another is always a challenge concerning

how accurately the original expression comes across in another language. During the

process of data analysis, I encountered another challenge. The emerged issue was a

nuance or impression of expression. The translated quotes of the Japanese native speakers

from Japanese to English appeared to be stronger statements than the original expressions.

Generally, Japanese discourse tries to avoid decisive statements by using expressions to

soften them. Although every attempt was made to translate the intention of the speakers,

it was sometimes difficult to convey moderately assertive Japanese statements with

English language translations. There is a possibility that some translated quotes appear to

be more assertive opinions than the original expressions.

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CHAPTER IV: INTERNATIONALIZATION PHENOMENON AT OLD TEIKOKU

UNIVERSITY

Brief Tradition and History

Old Teikoku University was founded at the beginning of the 20th century as one

of the seven imperial universities in Japan. In 1949, it was reorganized as a national

comprehensive university to become a regional academic center (Amano, 2008, p. 9),

under a unified national university system established by the New School Education Law.

In 2004, Old Teikoku University was incorporated in accordance with the National

University Corporation Law. Today, it is one of the largest and oldest national

universities in Japan with five campuses comprising 10 undergraduate schools, 15

graduate schools, and three professional graduate schools.

Old Teikoku University is located in a large city with a population of about one

million with the foreign population consisting of 1% of the total population. The city has

an international airport and a Shinkansen train stop. The university is decentralized with

five campuses that can be reached by bus within 15 minutes of the regional central train

station. The five campuses are characterized by certain functions or fields of discipline.

Each campus is oriented toward one of the following five fields of study: administrative

units and research institutions, humanities and social sciences (also the main campus for

liberal arts education for undergraduate students), science and engineering, medicine and

dentistry with a university hospital, and agriculture.

Old Teikoku University is a research-intensive university placing emphasis on

graduate education. About 40% of the 17,847 students are graduate students. Reflecting

the original foundation of the university, over 75% of the students currently major in one

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of three fields, science, medicine and engineering, with 30% in the College of

Engineering. Over 80% of undergraduates in these three fields go on to graduate school,

and since students generally continue to study at the same school, six years of education

is the norm in these schools. In contrast, the percentage of undergraduates in the fields of

humanities and social sciences that go on to graduate school is only about 20%. Forty

five percent of freshmen are from the local region.

From its beginnings, the university has been committed to the institutional

principles of giving priority to research and an open-door policy. Its primary mission is to

contribute to world peace and equity through conducting research that can solve societal

issues and educating students with leadership capabilities (Mission Statement, January

21, 2009, website). To fulfill its mission, the university also specifies four objectives to

be carried out in 10 years including in the areas of research, education, service, and a

university system. These objectives were specifically set up to recognize its role as a

research-intensive university in the context of a global society.

Chronicle of Internationalization

International activities, specifically related to research, are an inherent

characteristic of Old Teikoku University reflecting its foundation as one of the imperial

universities as well as reflecting its institutional principles of research first and its open-

door policy. International academic exchange is perceived to be a vital aspect of

intellectual production, so various international symposia and seminars are held on

campus at the department, college and university levels throughout the year.

Old Teikoku University has 15 research centers. While all of these research

centers aim to promote research at an international standard, two particular research

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centers were recently established with the objective of developing a center of global

excellence. In 2007, the university established a world-class research center for the

interdisciplinary areas of engineering and science with a large government grant. This

center aims to reform the conventional Japanese-style research and management system

to become a world-leading center. In the same year, they also restructured two

institutions into an international research and education institute to enhance

interdisciplinary research with an emphasis on nurturing talented young researchers to

increase the university’s domestic and international competitiveness in research activities.

In the 1990s, the university also established an international theme graduate school and

an area study research center.

In the early 1990s, the university-wide effort to accommodate the needs of

international students began by establishing the International Student Center in

accordance with the government policy to accept 100,000 foreign students. The main role

of this center was to provide international students with academic and social support

activities. Japanese language programs are now well established with an advising service,

extra-curricular activities for social and cultural adjustment, and intercultural experiences

and learning opportunities. Most recently, a career development service for international

students was added.

The role of the International Student Center gradually expanded changing the

main role from supporting international students to promoting both inbound and

outbound student mobility. Since the mid-1990s, the center has coordinated an exchange

program taught in English to provide international students from foreign partner

universities with an opportunity to study academic courses without Japanese language

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proficiency. The International Student Center has also been supported their students

participating in a one-year or one-semester study abroad exchange; however, in 2008, it

began providing short-term study abroad programs7 mainly targeted at domestic students

along with extra-curricular activities to improve English proficiency. In 2005, the center

was renewed as the Center for International Exchange.

Due to the physically dispersed campus structure, three colleges with a large

international student population, the College of Engineering, the College of Economics

and Management, and the College of Science, established an international exchange unit

with a full-time designated faculty member. The College of Engineering had already

established an international exchange unit around 1985, much earlier than the foundation

of the university-wide International Student Center. The faculty positions at these three

collegiate international exchange units were part-time positions, and later, they

established a full-time faculty position targeting international education and exchange.

The College of Engineering established this specialized full-time faculty position in 1998,

and it was followed later by the College of Economics and Management in 2004 and the

College of Science in 2008.

Internationalizing the campus environment for an international student population

also became an important agenda item. In 2007, a dormitory was built to support

international learning through a residential environment where international and domestic

7 The programs are available not only for domestic students but also international students; however, the main purpose to develop the short-term study abroad programs is to assist especially domestic students in gaining international learning opportunities.

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students live together8. Although there was a macro-level discourse on establishing an

international campus in the 2007 University Action Plan, the basic infrastructure such as

making bilingual signs and university administrative documents has not yet become

evident.

In 2000, Old Teikoku University began promoting internationalization more

systematically. It established a university-wide system to promote international activities

with the recognition of internationalization as an essential institutional agenda. In the

same year, Old Teikoku University declared a vision and objectives of international

exchange while hosting an international symposium on research and education in the 21st

century. In 2004, when national universities were corporatized, Old Teikoku University

made its highest priority a realization by becoming an internationally competitive

research and education university. In 2002, the forerunner of the Office of International

Exchange Strategy was established as a university-wide unit for internationalization

planning. In 2005, with the acquisition of competitive government funds, the university

established an international operations office as an institutional core unit of

internationalization with direct senior leadership by restructuring the existing

administrative support units for international exchange. The university also established

8 Traditionally, dormitories have not been common in Japanese universities, particularly in large cities. Dormitories have tended to be built specifically for international students because it is socially and economically difficult to rent regular apartments.

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two overseas offices9: one in the United States in 2006 and the other in China in 2007.

These offices have taken an active role in promoting international exchange activities.

In 2005, the university developed the first internationalization strategy, but

campus-wide recognition of internationalization as an essential institutional agenda had

to wait until the current president was installed. The president issued the 2007 University

Action Plan which outlined key objectives and action plans for the next 10 years to

achieve the goal of becoming a world-class research university. International references

were infused through this University Action Plan.

The trends of international exchange activities are presented in Tables 6-11. In

terms of international exchange agreements, the oldest international exchange agreement

was made in 1983. Since then, the number of agreements has increased largely, so by

May 2008, there were 129 international exchange agreements at the university level

(Table 6) and 284 at the department level (Table 7). Within the past 10 years, the number

of agreements at the university level has increased 3.6 times, and the number at the

department level has more than doubled (2.1 times).

Table 6. Trend of International Exchange Agreements at the University Level

Oldest

agreement

1988

1998

2008

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

1983

11

2

28

9

129

26

9 The overseas office is an institutional overseas base in which a university representative is stationed. The role of the office is comprehensive, providing a wide range of support to promote international exchange activities in foreign countries.

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Table 7. Trend of International Exchange Agreements at the Department Level

Oldest agreement

1988

1998

2008

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

1981 in Engineering

17

8

91

22

284

40

The number of international visiting scholars remained stable between 1,100 and

1,300 from 2003 through 2006; however, in 2007, the number was 1, 946 with a 60%

increase over the previous year (Table 8). In other words, the university had 0.73 visiting

scholars per faculty member. The number of academics studying overseas10 ranged from

2,300 to 4,000 in the past five years (Table 9) with 3,845 faculty members studying

abroad in 2007. In other words, each faculty member studied overseas 1.43 times.

Finally, the number of international faculty members was 10211 (Table 10), which

accounted for about 4% of the total faculty population in 2008.

Table 8. Trend of International Visiting Scholars Year

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

# of int’l scholars # of int’l scholars per academic staff

1,343 0.52

1,146 0.44

1,069 0.41

1,216 0.46

1,946 0.73

10 Academic studying overseas includes activities such as research abroad, teaching abroad, and attending and presenting at international conferences. 11 The number included professors, associate professors, lecturers, assistant professors (jyokyo), and research associates (jyosyu).

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Table 9. Trend of Academic Staff Studying Abroad Year

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

# of academic staff studying abroad # per academic staff

2,300 0.89

3,411 1.32

2,456 0.97

4,032 1.51

3,845 1.43

Table 10. International Faculty Statistics Year

2008

# of total faculty

2,743

# of int’l faculty

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% of int’l faculty to total

3.7%

The trends of the international student population are presented in Table 11. The

number of international students has significantly increased, but the ratio of the student

body has remained stable for the past few years at 7%. In 2008, the international students

represented 75 countries. Another characteristic is that Old Teikoku University has a

large international graduate population that accounts for 11% of the total number of

graduate students, and about 65% of the total international student population. At the

undergraduate level, international students account for only 1% of the total undergraduate

population. In terms of students studying abroad, less than 1% of all students participated

in 2008.

Table 11. Trend of the International Student Population Year

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

# of int’l students % of int’l students to total students # of countries of origin

1,054

6% 69

1,124

6% 77

1,173

7% 73

1,194

7% 73

1,179

7% 67

1,218

7% 75

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Finally, besides traditional international partnerships, the University recently

slightly increased its participation in international university consortia and networks with

two memberships in 1990s and four in 2008. Three out of the four networks were in

Asian and Pacific regions and one was based in Europe. The university joined the

European-based network by establishing double degree programs with higher education

institutions in France. Three out of their four networks target leading research

universities, so through these networks, the university provides students with some

opportunities to participate in international graduate student conferences and summer

programs.

Objectives and Rationale for Internationalization

In 2000, Old Teikoku University began formulating an institutional

internationalization vision and strategy which stated that the promotion of international

exchange was pivotal to accomplishing the university’s mission. Nevertheless, it did not

proceed with concrete initiatives. A senior leader mentioned that the realization of an

institutional internationalization vision and strategy began with the corporatization of

national universities. He stated:

...We discussed and studied [internationalization] for about a year. I think that corporatization, corporatization of national universities, became a great opportunity. After corporatization of national universities, what should Old Teikoku University do? Then, internationalization emerged as one of the pillars. Then, how should we tackle internationalization including the mission statement, strategy, and develop our system? Corporatization was in April, 2004. We did various planning [activities] for internationalization around that time (117-5).

In 2003, the Council of International Exchange Planning was established. In 2004

when it was corporatized, the university set as the highest priority the realization of

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conducting internationally competitive research and education to become a world-class,

research-intensive university. In 2005, their internationalization strategy was further

developed to transform the university into a world-class university through strategic

international exchanges and collaboration. Internationalization refers to the promotion of

international exchanges and collaboration. The internationalization strategy laid out the

objectives and initiatives associated with the international exchanges and collaboration

that should be achieved within five years. The four identified objectives were (1) the

establishment of a network for global research and education, (2) international

recruitment of talented researchers and students, (3) strengthening the system for

dissemination of information internationally, and (4) the establishment of an

infrastructure for international exchanges by strengthening financial and human

resources. Specifically at Old Teikoku University, internationalization refers to the

promotion of international exchanges and the development of a system to support further

international exchange opportunities.

Besides the development of a strategic plan specifically for internationalization,

international exchange was also listed as an agenda in the overall institutional 2004-2010

mid-term plans and objectives. In the 2007 University Action Plan, the international

dimension was infused into five areas: education, research, societal contribution, campus

environment, and management system.

The existence of an internationalization strategy was relatively unknown in the

university community since the majority of interviewees addressed the University Action

Plan as the roadmap of internationalization. One faculty member, who was a former dean

of a college, mentioned the University Action Plan as the first institutional-wide

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internationalization plan, highlighting the impact of the official announcement by the

institutional top leader:

…Internationalization was already there [at the university] as an undercurrent like a hidden slogan, but the development of the University Action Plan means it’s an official announcement as a concrete plan. By announcing the Plan publicly, [internationalization] needs to come to the front. I mean, there was not a clear direction that the university as an institution would promote internationalization until [the University Action Plan] was officially announced….In the case of Old Teikoku University, we have understood that we must promote internationalization for a long time, but we let the matter take its own course in accordance with economic and various trends instead of actively promoting internationalization. After corporatization, as the [discourse] on [internationalization of higher education] increased gradually, the university began to think that we could not leave internationalization as it was. Then, in the University Action Plan, it [internationalization] emerged as the first or second item of the slogan (110-3).

As described above, the university’s history and background made Old Teikoku

University a prestigious leading research-intensive university in Japan. While some fields

of studies in science and technology have been highly regarded internationally, the

university is now striving to transform itself as a whole into an internationally recognized

university and research center to become a world-class research university. Within 10

years, the university aims to rank among the world’s top 30 universities to become a

member of the global elite higher education league. With this new ultimate goal,

internationalization is viewed as a means to position the university in the global market

for higher education. In the internationalization strategy, the emerging rationale for

internationalization is to gain an international reputation and high standing:

At its corporatization, Old Teikoku University set up the main goal to prosper as an internationally competitive [italics added] world-class center of education and research. To achieve this goal, the objective of the internationalization strategy is to gain an international reputation [italics added] as a member of the global academic community and establish the university functions that deserve to gain an international reputation [translated by the author] (p. 1).

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A senior leader also commented that the recent emergence of the rationale of this

international reputation and standing was affected by a change in the landscape of higher

education in Japan.

Good or bad, [there is a] university ranking, a world university ranking. When universities are evaluated domestically, there are various evaluation criteria such as how many scholars received a Nobel Prize. But whether universities are internationally competent or not is becoming a huge factor. Even if a university doesn’t receive international recognition, it is still a top university in Japan, but I don’t think this type of claim can stand up anymore. If the university is not internationally recognized, its domestic reputation is also no more or no less…Basically, if the universities don’t have a high international standing, they cannot be highly regarded domestically, either…In a sense, seclusion of universities in Japan is over. Internationalization is inevitable. Times have changed. An international high standing and reputation will result in enhancing the missions of the universities toward Japanese society and improving their domestic standing and reputation (11-34).

This senior administrator acknowledged that an international standard is going to greatly

affect domestic institutional reputation by indentifying the impact of its world university

ranking.

Another senior leader further explained the impact of the emerging global market

on higher education:

…Globalization has been progressing this far, so if you don’t compete in the international arena, you cannot globally survive as a prestigious university. Until now, a university is recognized as one representing Japan in any field of research and education. So [traditionally] when a foreign renowned university was looking for a research partner, they first addressed [A] university. Then, if it didn’t work, they addressed [B] university. Then, if it didn’t work, they addressed our university or [C] university. That was the typical way to do it. Student exchange did it in the same way. However, now, this way doesn’t work anymore. Now, it is more like when the foreign universities look for an international partner, they don’t collaborate if they don’t find they will gain any advantage in the research content and education. In the past, we could internationally hold our prestigious status based on the domestic university ranking since we were protected by a non-tariff barrier of Japanese language, but we cannot do it that way anymore (117-7).

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This senior leader explained that because of the difficult Japanese language barrier, the

domestic ranking automatically had functioned as international recognition. However,

due to globalization of the higher education market, it is inescapable that Old Teikoku

University must compete in a global higher education market to survive as a prestigious

university both domestically and internationally. Its domestic prestigious status as a

former imperial university in Japan is not necessarily an indicator that it will be selected

by international partners. These comments of two senior leaders realized that a

university’s international reputation and standing has become the institutional motivation

to promote internationalization as the consequence of the emergence of the global higher

education market.

The perception of internationalization as a means to becoming a world-class

university with the rationale of international standing and reputation was largely shared

not only among senior leader interviewees but also among faculty and staff interviewees.

A majority of interviewees alluded to the international standing and reputation of the

university using phrases such as world-class university, talented researchers and graduate

students, and international standard. Although the majority of interviewees recognized

this institutional rationale of internationalization, some interviewees pointed out the

obscure nature of the institution-oriented rationale for internationalization which was

discussed in two ways. The first issue was the lack of explanation on how and why

internationalization is important to achieve the institutional goal. A senior leader stated:

…It is not so clear in which direction we are really going. Setting up the goal to become one of the top 30 universities in the world is good, but it is not so clear what kind of university we are aiming to become in order to become one of the top 30 universities. If you review our documents, you will find that it is a weakness. They said that internationalization is important, but they didn’t clearly

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state why we are internationalizing the university. The direction is not wrong, but it lacks explanation—because we are aiming for such and such; that’s why we need to internationalize the university as an institution. Such a rationale was not stipulated because it is difficult to explain. Rather, we rarely ask for explanations in Japan. It is the tendency of Japanese management in which we just go in the specified direction once we say “Let’s do it”. We don’t feel strange with that type of management (15-11).

This senior leader pointed out that although the institution recognizes the importance of

internationalization to become one of the top 30 universities, articulating the institutional

interpretation of internationalization is a different matter. The senior leader highlighted

the importance of explaining how Old Teikoku University could become one of the top

30 universities and why internationalization should be adopted to achieve the goal.

The second issue concerning the obscure nature of the institution-oriented

rationale was that the rationale of creating an international reputation and standing is too

abstract to gain a buy-in from faculty members. Such a rationale does not encourage

faculty members to take real action toward internationalization, especially efforts to

internationalize education. One faculty member stated this view by indicating that the

abstract notion of internationalization barely provides the university members with any

concrete outcomes of internationalization:

…That [one of the top 30 universities] is the official purpose, but I am not sure how individuals at the university would benefit from such efforts. Well, physically increasing the position of the university in rankings is important, but the purpose of internationalization is only an abstract perception such as increasing the quality of education and research. That’s it (18-22).

This faculty member continued to discuss the international dimension of the liberal arts

education highlighting the need to emphasize the student-oriented rationale for

internationalization. Another faculty member also regarded the current institutional

statement of internationalization as only a slogan and further pointed out that the

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institution-oriented rationale for internationalization rarely contributed to getting

individual faculty members on board with internationalization especially in the matter of

education:

As mentioned before, the purpose of why we are internationalizing the university is not fully explained. In other words, among faculty members, there are those who think it isn’t necessary and faculty members who think it is a must. Declaring the slogan of internationalization is not enough. In reality, individual faculty members are the ones who need to take action. A part of internationalization cannot help but rely on faculty members. However, why…even though the university decided to set internationalization as an [institutional] agenda, it cannot make individual faculty members aware of the importance of internationalization. If it [the importance of internationalization] doesn’t reach the individual faculty members, it affects education. For example, when educating students, to promote internationalization, students need to study English. They cannot be competent at international conferences without this communication skill. Moreover, students need to learn how people from different countries think to a certain extent because it is about human relationships. Students would deepen their study through deepening their association with people from different countries. [If the importance of internationalization doesn’t reach individual faculty members,] we cannot provide such education. Therefore, the purpose of internationalization needs to be clarified, and senior leaders need to make everyone understand its purpose. Without doing this, education doesn’t reflect internationalization. That is the weakness. Right now, there is only a slogan (110-69).

In summary, the institutional recognition of internationalization as an agenda

became visible in accordance to the 2007 University Action Plan initiated by the current

president. By setting up the ultimate goal to become a world-class university with the

quantitative objective of the university ranking being in the top 30, internationalization

became an inevitable institutional strategy to achieve the goal. Internationalization refers

to promotion of international exchange and development of the system to support further

international exchange. Moreover, the rationale for internationalization to increase their

international reputation and standing emerged and gained recognition in the university

community; however, some interviewees indicated that the institution-oriented purpose

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for internationalization is too abstract to help them understand the real outcomes of

internationalization at an individual level, especially for students. This lack of

understanding could affect the substantial actions of faculty members for

internationalization of education.

In this section, I examined the objectives of internationalization and the context in

which the objectives were set up. In the following section, the implemented initiatives are

examined with respect to internationalization.


In this section the internationalization initiatives are examined in terms of what

kinds of international programs and activities were implemented according to the newly

established internationalization strategy. Internationalization activities increased and their

scope was broadened at Old Teikoku University. Interviewees discussed the implemented

internationalization initiatives in terms of two main university functions: research and

education. In addition, branding of the university as a new internationalization initiative

emerged through the data analysis.

Research

The recently implemented internationalization initiatives related to research

involved institutional support for further promotion of international research activities.

To promote world-standard research activities through collaboration with selected

partners (University Action Plan, p. 8), the university began making efforts at the

institutional level. The main measures taken for internationalization of research were:

• Implementing a senior administration initiative and support to obtain

competitive government research funds.

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• Establishing a system to support distinctive research activities.

• Creating an alternative employment system for international recruitment of

young talented researchers and graduate students.

• Promoting international academic-industry collaboration.

Internationalization of research was strongly linked to obtaining large external

funds. Especially competitive government funds for the establishment of global

excellence of education and research such as the 21st Century COE program and Global

COE program were recognized as essential financial sources for internationalization of

research. One senior administrator emphasized the increased importance of an

institutional effort as a whole with the senior leadership to obtain these funds:

…First, the senior administration develops a strategy. The government announces an initiative regarding international exchange. We discuss if we can apply for it by [developing] such and such program to obtain funds to do such and such activity… Let’s try to develop a program by coordinating research interests among faculty members. We used to leave the matter of application to individual colleges or departments…but, now we apply for the program with collaboration between engineering and medicine or with the collaboration of literature and law. To a certain extent, we are crossing borders among the college. Nowadays, it is difficult to obtain competitive government funds without the central strategic plan and management. It is getting difficult only with collegiate governance to obtain the university-wide competitive funds and improve the university. Therefore, we are strengthening the senior administration by establishing the positions of Executive Vice President for Research and Executive Vice President for International Exchange and creating the position of special advisors to the president and specially appointed professors as senior administrative staff. We discuss among those staff and try to obtain competitive funds to develop the university further. I believe that the universities are moving into a different era (11-13).

Due to corporatization, the senior administration became attuned to external funding,

especially large government competitive funds. The senior administration began

strategically initiating and supporting the colleges and departments to obtain competitive

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research funds. One initiative was to establish a strategic committee for the Global COE

program. In addition, a consultant office for external funding was established in 2006.

The second implemented initiative was establishing a system to further support

the development of selected distinctive research activities. Since the government

competitive funding provides limited-term, project-based grants, in 2007 Old Teikoku

University restructured two educational and research institutions to establish a university-

wide collaborative research and education institute to continue their internationally

competitive research projects after completion of the government funding. An important

objective of this university-wide institution is to foster talented young researchers

including doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows working with scholars of highly

regarded research projects. The institute provides a limited number of highly selected

graduate students with interdisciplinary education and various scholarships and funds to

assist them in becoming internationally competitive researchers. Although the institute

currently has a very limited number of international researchers, it has begun recruiting

talented young researchers internationally. International recruitment of talented young

researchers and graduate students recently became even more prominent so they could

establish the centers of global excellence.

The third initiative is the implementation of an alternative employment system to

enhance international recruitment of these talented young researchers. In 2006, the

university introduced a new employment system in the fields of engineering, medical

engineering and life science, in which young researchers are recruited internationally for

tenure-track faculty positions. Another new employment system is to hire faculty

members under a system of performance-based annual salaries with a limited term. These

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limited-term faculty positions tend to have the main duty of research for specific research

projects.

The last initiative is related to academic-industry collaborations. Old Teikoku

University traditionally has emphasized practice-oriented research and education. In the

new policy of academic-industry collaborations, the university aims at not only

promoting technology transfer and joint research, but also advancing technical

innovations. To promote international academic-industry collaborations, the university

established a stronger support system including securing human resources with expertise

in international law and intellectual property in 2007.

In summary, the four implemented initiatives aim to recruit talented scholars and

establish world-class research centers by obtaining external funds from the government

and other industries. Many interviewees also perceived that the internationalization of

research has been well promoted because of the success in obtaining governmental

competitive funds for international activities. One faculty member stated:

Basically, we excel in research. For example, the selected number of our applications for Global COE was pretty good. In a word, people generally say that we have been fairly successful in creating and transmitting knowledge by conducting research at an international standard, in which individuals from various countries, regardless of their nationality get together and do research (119-24).

This comment highlights the importance of attaining the competitive government funds

to enhance international research activities. Thus, institutional leadership in

internationalization of research has increased, and the process of internationalization in a

particular area has been well promoted.

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Education

The educational objective is to “produce future leaders with a strong liberal arts

background, specialized expertise and an international outlook [italics added]”

(University Action Plan, p. 4). As a university that is open to the world, Old Teikoku

University aims to establish a system to promote international exchange and cooperation

among students (University Action Plan, p. 5). The goals of the implemented educational

initiatives were (1) to recruit talented international graduate students, (2) to provide

domestic students with international learning opportunities, and (3) to assist domestic

students in developing English language skills so they could participate in international

learning opportunities.

As a leading research-intensive university, recruiting talented graduate students is

an important agenda at Old Teikoku University, so they provide three international

graduate programs with English as the language of instruction (Table 12). These

international graduate programs were established after 2001 in the fields of science and

technology.

Table 12. International Graduate Programs Programs Target Year of

Start Doctoral program in Engineering, Information Science and Environmental Studies Master’s and doctoral programs in Science Master’s and doctoral programs in Human Security

Int’l students Int’l students Int’l and Japanese students

2001 2004 2005

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An English-medium doctoral program in engineering, information science, and

environmental studies, and the English-medium master’s and doctoral programs in

science were developed along with the current curricula or an expansion of the current

curricula within the extant graduate schools especially for international students who

need to break the barrier of Japanese language. The master’s and doctoral programs in

human security are joint programs in collaboration with four graduate schools: the

Graduate School of Agricultural Science, the Graduate School of Medicine, the Graduate

School of International Cultural Studies, and the Graduate School of Environmental

Studies. These programs were newly established with an international focus for both

international and domestic students.

Old Teikoku University also provides international students with an exchange

program in English. The purpose of the program is to offer an opportunity for

international students, mainly junior and senior year undergraduate students, to take

academic courses for credit without having Japanese language proficiency. The academic

courses offered in this program are mainly in the field of engineering and science since

80% of program participants major in engineering, but there is also one course in

education and one in economics. Besides the academic courses, the program also offers

courses in Japanese language and culture.

The university also developed three double master’s degree programs with two

higher education institutions in France and one in China (Table 13). The university was

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in the first group of universities12 to begin developing double degree programs at the

graduate level in Japan. All double master’s degree programs were also offered in the

Graduate School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Science. The languages of

instruction in the double master’s degree programs with French institutions are French

and Japanese while the one in the program with the Chinese university is English only.

Old Teikoku University has received four students from one French institution, two from

the other French institution, and four from the Chinese university in 2006 and 2007, but

they sent only one student to France in 2007. Although double degree programs were

developed to promote student mobility between the institutions, the inbound number

exceeded the outbound number. The limited foreign language proficiency of domestic

students was identified as the main cause of this imbalance by several interviewees.

Table 13. Double Degree Programs Degree

Colleges/ Graduate Schools

Partner Institutions

Language of instruction

Year

MA MA MA

Colleges/GSs of Engineering and Science Colleges/GSs of Engineering and Science Colleges/GSs of Engineering and Science

Grandes Ecoles in France Grandes Ecoles in France University in China

French & Japanese French & Japanese English

2005 2006 2006

12 The first joint/double graduate program was implemented in 1992. Then, four programs in 1994, four programs in 1995 and three programs in 1996 were implemented (Kuriyama, Saito, Maekawa, & Muta, 2008, p. 6).

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Discourse on providing more diverse international learning opportunities is

prominent in the University Action Plan. Some interviewees mentioned the domestic

students’ lack of interest in studying abroad by referring to the 2007 survey on student

life, in which about 50% of responding students answered that they did not want to study

abroad. In the past, the traditional student exchange program was almost the only study

abroad program coordinated at the institutional level. In 2008, however, the university

began developing short-term study abroad programs such as an English and culture

program during spring break and a one-week international seminar program. The Center

for International Exchange took the initiative to develop and manage these programs in

collaboration with an administrative unit for international student exchange.

Besides efforts at the institutional level, the college-level effort to offer short-term

study abroad opportunities was identified by the interviewees. At least, two colleges in

the fields of technology and medicine provide their students with study abroad programs

(19-144 & 111-140). The information on studying abroad related to academic majors is

managed within the colleges. Moreover, faculty members in the field of science and

technology also mentioned that the number of research abroad opportunities for graduate

students increased due the availability of competitive government funds such as the COE

Programs (13-35 & 16-94). The study abroad programs provided at Old Teikoku

University are listed in Table 14.

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Table 14. Study Abroad Programs Program Type

Programs

Coordinating Department

Exchange Program

• One semester or a year exchange

program with foreign partner universities

• The Center for

International Exchange • International Exchange

Division in colleges Short-term program (summer and spring break)

• 1 language and culture program

(English) • 1 one-week international seminar

program • 1 short-term program related with

academic majors

• The Center for

International Exchange • The Center for

International Exchange • College of Engineering

and College of Medicine English education13 reform also became an important agenda item in the

internationalization of the curriculum at Old Teikoku University. Strengthening overall

English communication skills is emphasized in undergraduate education while improving

English proficiency for presentations and discussion as academic skills is stressed in

graduate education (University Action Plan, p.4-5). The low English proficiency of their

students was largely recognized among the interviewees. One faculty member stressed

that the geographical location could contribute to their lower English proficiency:

…Due to geographical conditions, students who attend our university don’t have much international experience. It could be an issue of economics, but more likely it is a regional issue. This is not Tokyo, so our students don’t have many opportunities to have direct contact with foreigners, and the number of returnee students at our university is much smaller compared with Keio University. It is common knowledge that our students’ English scores are not so high because of the mentioned conditions, but I think that this is not special only at our university. Therefore, it is important that we provide students with opportunities to gain experience [in using English]. Overall, the basic academic skills regarding the

13 Foreign language education is required as part of their general education in the undergraduate curriculum. Generally, undergraduate students fulfill 6 credits of English courses and 4 credits of another foreign language courses. Old Teikoku University offers courses in 13 foreign languages.

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field of their study, such as abilities to do math and social sciences are not bad at all. To assist students in transmitting what they have and know, initiatives to improve English proficiency are essential (119-29).

By recognizing the regional environment, this faculty member claimed that the university

needs to assist students in improving their English proficiency. He also recognized that

English is an essential tool to communicate the knowledge that students create.

With the current English education reform, English language education is

regarded as an important academic skill rather than as an educational subject. With this

educational objective, various initiatives have been implemented including requiring

undergraduate students to take six credits of English starting in 2009 instead of the

previous four credits. Furthermore, the requirement for freshmen to take the TOEFL

exam was introduced for assessment purposes. The university also introduced a new

approach in their English curriculum from in-class learning to individual self-learning in

2005. Instead of attending an English class twice a week, students have a choice to earn

the required credits by achieving a certain score in an English proficiency test such as the

TOEFL or TOEIC. The university established a multi-media language learning system to

assist in this self-learning. In terms of graduate education, some graduate schools also

began offering courses in English academic writing and presentations. Besides the formal

curriculum, the university provides extra-curriculum courses such as a preparatory course

for the TOEFL and TOEIC tests and a practical English course focusing on

communication and presentation skills. These programs were outsourced to private

foreign language specialized schools to take advantage of these schools’ expertise.

Although the increased institutional efforts to internationalize education were

identified, the majority of the interviewees expressed concern that further efforts toward

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educational internationalization were greatly needed. Interviewees discussed several

trends they had observed. They first noted that although international research activities

are typically initiated according to individual scholarly interests, the internationalization

of education requires far more institutional-level efforts. Reflecting the characteristics of

a research-intensive university with strengths in the fields of science and technology, they

recognized that the main interest of the faculty members tends to be research rather than

education. In addition, graduate education tends to be prioritized over undergraduate

education due to their interest in nurturing future researchers. Considering these trends,

some faculty members argued that the senior administration should consider the need for

increased institutional-level efforts to improve the international dimension of education,

especially from the viewpoint of liberal arts education. The educational objective should

focus on the development of the humanities through international experiences and cross-

cultural understanding rather than through advanced knowledge and skills related to

expertise in a global knowledge society.

One faculty member from the field of social sciences and humanities recognized

that the internationalization process at Old Teikoku University puts less emphasis on this

view of internationalization by identifying differences in the perceptions of

internationalization by field of study:

Well, probably it [the meaning of internationalization] differs among colleges and among individuals. At Old Teikoku University, the university system is very decentralized. The Graduate School of Engineering takes the lead in the university. So from their perspective, internationalization means developing an international reputation and fostering researchers who play an active role internationally. I would say [this perception of internationalization] is different from perceptions in the field of social sciences and humanities. Although it is an important objective to become a world-class university, besides that, internationalization means providing students with a variety of experiences and

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helping international students enjoy the university and acquire knowledge in their specialized field before they go home. Well, [in the fields of social sciences and humanities], there is more emphasis on education rather than research (1x-56).

A further comment from this faculty member on the effort to design a course on

experiential cross-cultural communication and understanding indicated that

internationalization of the curriculum, besides study abroad programs and English

language reform, relies on individual faculty members’ desires and efforts. In other

words, it is not institutionalized yet. This faculty member obtained institutional research

competitive funds for two purposes: to do research and to develop an internationalized

curriculum:

…Two years ago, I got [institutional] young scholar research funds. It has to be used for research, but when I was interviewed, I said that we don’t have this type of [educational] program. Then, I said that my purpose is not development of the program, but first, I need to develop the program, and then, I would like to conduct research on the educational impact of the program. Well, they mostly understood…my longing for developing such an educational program, and my proposal was accepted (1x-178).

Another faculty member from the field of social sciences and humanities pointed

out the current limited scope of studying abroad programs and suggested further

development of the study abroad programs by enhancing understanding and experience in

international issues and society.

…When discussing technology, research and contributions to the world, it is only about the most advanced innovations, developing the fastest vehicle or the fastest communication technology in the world…For example, summer programs like going to India to work as a volunteer for underprivileged individuals, going to the Philippines to dig a well, going to some island to plant mangroves, or going to Cambodia to participate in the reconstruction of Angkor Wat as a volunteer, there is not an atmosphere like this at the university. Well, we might have no choice, but it is not well balanced. Well, there are a few faculty members in the School of Medicine who developed a program to send their students to developing countries to gain experience in the issues of [medical] insurance and prevention of contagious diseases...[but] there is almost no program to experience the fact that

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there are individuals in the world who live without enjoying the benefit of the Internet and electricity. But there is an atmosphere that nobody would pay attention even though such a program would be suggested. I believe that such a balance is very important. I heard that the flagship universities in the U.S. provide programs to the elite to visit such areas [developing countries] …(111-140).

In summary, internationalization of education has focused on programs with

English as the language of instruction provided in the fields of science and technology to

recruit talented international graduate students, and an improved English language

curriculum to strengthen the English language proficiency of domestic students. Another

initiative for domestic students is the provision of short-term study abroad opportunities

in addition to a traditional exchange program, which just began at the institutional level.

Some colleges in the fields of science and technology also provide their collegiate

students with opportunities to study abroad. Based on an examination of the educational

initiatives, at Old Teikoku University internationalization of education seems to target

their efforts for student mobility initiatives. Moreover, reflecting the university’s

principle of research first and a large science and technology population, educational

initiatives have tended to target mostly graduate education. Their educational emphasis

seems to be on fostering researchers and individuals with advanced skills and knowledge

who can be competent in a global knowledge society. The university recognizes that

English language skills are essential to achieve such educational goals, but some faculty

members called attention to the lack of discourse on curriculum internationalization in

liberal arts education due to the strong research-oriented focus of the university.

University Branding

The importance of an international public relations strategy was identified in the

University Action Plan so they could become recognized internationally and thus recruit

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talented researchers and strengthen international collaboration (p. 11). To help meet this

goal, the essential university publications, including the website and university

catalogues, were produced both in Japanese and English, and the main university catalog

was also prepared in Chinese and French. Some colleges and research centers also

prepared some of their publications in both Japanese and English. A senior leader listed

the effort for international public relations first among various institutional

internationalization initiatives:

There were various initiatives but, to begin with, [we need] public relations. To make Old Teikoku University internationally visible, the first thing is to make the presence of Old Teikoku University recognized and to disseminate and communicate to the international society what activities we are doing. For example, improving the homepage, creating an English version of the homepage. We really began the effort from there. Then, published [university] brochures, the annual review, those kinds of things, not only in English, but also in Chinese and French. Above all, one of the initiatives was to improve publications (117-8).

Old Teikoku University also developed the university logo in 2004. The senior

leader emphasized that the logo was designed by an international company of brand

design and consultancy in the United Kingdom with the top priority of international

relations.

The reason why we asked the UK brand designer [to design our logo] is that from now on, when Old Teikoku University is going internationally, well, some symbol might be adequate in Japan, but it could be religiously perceived as taboo [in other countries]. The chance of getting in that situation can be high if Japanese companies design the logo. That’s why we looked for a multinational company (117-11). The last initiative was establishing an institutional repository in 2007. An

institutional repository is an online library of intellectual materials produced by scholarly

activities at the universities. The purpose is to share knowledge products domestically

and internationally. Even though its purpose is more oriented to contributing to society, it

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could be used as an institutional information dissemination tool to eventually increase the

university’s brand internationally.

In summary, as the market of higher education has become more globalized, the

institutional efforts to increase the institutional visibility internationally have also become

important to research-intensive universities. Old Teikoku University put efforts into the

area of international public relations including the dissemination of information on

education and research activities at the university and the creation of an international

image or identity.

In this section, implemented internationalization initiatives were examined in

terms of two main functions of the university, research and education, with an emerged

theme of branding. In the following sections, I discuss how the administrative system has

changed to implement these initiatives.

Change in Administrative System

The centers of international academic activities in Japan are colleges where

students and faculty members reside. The key issue discussed in this section is how the

central university administrative system could further assist students, faculty members,

and academic departments in promoting their international academic activities. In the

previous section, recently implemented internationalization initiatives were examined. To

support the internationalization initiatives, I now turn to how the administrative system

has changed at Old Teikoku University.

Restructuring the organization for internationalization began in late 2002 and they

eventually established a university-wide system to plan and oversee the

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internationalization process and to coordinate its implementation. The new organizational

structure is presented in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Organizational Structure for Internationalization at Old Teikoku University in August 2008

President

Office of International Exchange Strategy

Strategic Planning Function

Center for International Exchange

Task Force Function

Executive Vice President (International Affairs and Legal Affairs) Vice President (International Student Exchange and Graduate Education)

Two sub-committees: • International Exchange

Agreement • Double Degree Program

Project Groups (Projects were completed.): • Administrative structure for

international exchange • International education

exchange

Oversea Offices in China and US

International Exchange Office at three colleges: • College/Graduate School of Engineering • College/Graduate School of Science • College/Graduate School of Economics and Management

Level 1: Central Administration

Level 2: University-Wide specialized units

Level 3: Colleges

International Operations Office (International Affairs Department)

Project Coordinators Task Force Function

Operations Function

Student Exchange Division

Academic Exchange Division

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The restructuring process began with the establishment of the forerunner of the

Office of International Exchange Strategy (OIES), which is the Central Council for

Institutional Strategic Planning on Internationalization. In 2004, the International Affairs

Department was newly established as an administrative bureau department by unifying

the Student Exchange Division under the Education and Student Support Department and

the Academic Exchange Division under the Research Cooperation Department.

In 2005, the International Student Center changed its title to the Center for

International Exchange, reflecting the change in educational services including the

provision of more diverse study abroad programs for domestic students. Also in 2005, by

establishing the International Operations Office (IOO), Old Teikoku University

developed a central system under the leadership of the senior administration to promote

internationalization through three functions: strategic planning function, task force

function, and operational function. In the following section, changes in the administrative

system of internationalization are discussed focusing on the change in structure,

management, and participants.

Dominant Coalition for Internationalization Planning

The dominant coalition (R. E. Miles & Snow, 1978) for internationalization

changed from the collegiate interest representative model to a top-down and expertise-

oriented model. The original dominant coalition for internationalization was the Council

of International Exchange, which consisted of faculty members representing each college.

The forerunner of the Office of International Exchange Planning replaced the Council of

International Exchange at the end of 2002 and was formally placed under the direct

leadership of the president in 2004. In 2006, they changed the name to the Office of

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International Exchange Strategy (OIES). This new dominant coalition consisted of a

group of individuals who were appointed by the Executive Vice President for

International Affairs and Legal Affairs according to the level of departmental

international activities and individual institutional positions related to international

exchange. In 2008, the members of the office were four senior administrators, six faculty

members, and three administration staff members (Table 15).

Table 15. Members of the Office of International Exchange Strategy (OIES) in August 2008 Position

Profiles

Senior Admin.

• Executive Vice President for International Affairs and Legal Affairs (Chair) • Executive Vice President for Research and Education/Research Infrastructure • Vice President for International Student Exchange and Graduate School

Education/Director, Center for International Exchange • Special Advisor to the President/Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

Faculty

• Professor, Graduate School of Engineering • Professor, Graduate School of Science • Professor, Graduate School of Economic and Management • Director, Institute of Fluid Science • Deputy Director, Center for International Exchange

Admin. Staff

• Manager, International Affairs Department (IAD) • Manager, Student Exchange Division at IAD • Manager, International Exchange Division at IAD

Two senior administrators were appointed to the matter of internationalization.

The Executive Vice President for International Affairs and Legal Affairs was in charge of

the overall institutional internationalization, and was appointed as the chair of OIES. The

Vice President for International Student Exchange and Graduate School Education was in

charge of educational exchange. This position of the vice president targeting

internationalization of education focusing on student mobility was established in 2006

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because of the current president’s leadership. Besides these senior administrators, the

members of OIES also included the Executive Vice President for Research and

Education/Research Infrastructure and a professor from the Graduate School of

Engineering, who was appointed to the position of a special advisor for the president. The

professor held a doctoral degree from a foreign university and had worked as a faculty

member for foreign institutions for many years.

The five selected faculty members are from colleges or academic centers that

have been actively promoting international exchange activities: the Graduate School of

Engineering, the Graduate School of Science, the Graduate School of Economic and

Management, the Institute of Fluid Science, and the Center of International Exchange.

The three colleges and the Institute of Fluid Science established a departmental

international exchange office. The Center of International Exchange is the main

university-wide unit to promote international student exchange and education. The

selected faculty members became the heads of these international units.

The three colleges have large international student populations, and two colleges

offer international graduate programs (programs with English as the language of

instruction), and the recently established double degree programs with foreign partner

institutions. The Institute of Fluid Science was one of the research centers that received a

large number of international visiting scholars, and it also manages six overseas liaison

offices. Finally, three selected administration staff members were in managerial positions

in the central administrative support units for international activities.

The purpose for changing the model of the dominant coalition was to improve the

strategic planning function. A senior leader explained that the college representative

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model ended up playing a symbolic role of international exchange, but it lacked the

function of producing an institutional vision and direction for internationalization:

This [the Council of International Exchange] was the whole university council…the council consisting of members from [all] 16 colleges and academic centers. Well, in a good way, since there are representatives from all colleges and academic centers, the decisions made there will be smoothly conveyed to departments. On the other hand, it can become just a nominal committee. For example, there were representatives from all colleges even when [the issues being discussed] were international exchange at the College of Engineering or at engineering related departments, so we could not discuss in depth. Or, it became a routine ratification system instead of a system to discuss university-wide strategic planning. No discussion in depth. In some way, only the presence of the council has some meaning. It became this kind of system. There was the concern that we could not deal with international exchange promptly and enterprisingly without the university-wide system to produce a substantial discussion on international exchange and a real discussion on the plan. That’s why we dissolved the Council of International Exchange and established the Office of International Exchange Planning (11-15).

Two senior leaders pointed out that the membership selection procedure created

the Council of International Exchange as a representative model, which became a mere

name. They highlighted the problem that in the representative model, the members were

faculty members who were appointed by each college under the rotation system with a

one- or two-year term, and there were no criteria for selection of the position regarding

expertise in the matter of international exchange (11-15 and 117-10). The lack of

expertise in the matter of internationalization among the members made it difficult to

equip the Council of International Exchange with the strategic planning function. One of

the senior leaders noted:

…For instance, at each college, the position [of the Council] of International Exchange is under a rotation system. It rotates among faculty members [at each college] every one or two years. Some faculty member happens to be appointed to the position, but in reality, the professors are not necessarily well informed about international exchange. If these individuals from 16 departments become the council members, they have no clue on what happened in the past. Then, next

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year, new individuals become the council members. We cannot produce a substantial discussion (11-15).

Besides remodeling the dominant coalition to develop the planning function, two

project teams for internationalization were established by the president in 2007. These

project teams were described as ad hoc committees. They were established for a short-

time period, a couple of months to less than a year, to review the current status and make

recommendations on specific topics of internationalization. One project team worked on

the system of international exchange, and the other project team worked on international

education exchange. Those reports were submitted to the president, and they eventually

went to the Executive Vice President for International Affairs for future planning on the

internationalization strategy.

In summary, examining changes in the dominant coalition for internationalization

revealed that the institutional decision-making process regarding internationalization

became more top-down and targeted. The newly established dominant coalition for

internationalization was coordinated under senior leadership with input from units

actively promoting international exchange and activities. The members’ characteristics

became more focused on the level of international activities in departments and

individual departmental positions related to internationalization. Furthermore, the

president’s call for two project teams on internationalization also revealed senior

leadership’s increased attention to internationalization.

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Structure for Managing Internationalization Activities at the Central Administration

Level

In the previous section, the strategic planning function on internationalization was

discussed. In this section, the task force functions and operational functions are examined

to understand the structure for coordinating the implementation of internationalization

activities at the university-wide central administration level.

As explained above, OIES was established to strengthen the strategic planning

function. To materialize the internationalization strategy developed by OIES, the

International Operations Office (IOO) was established in 2005 with competitive

government funding. The structure to coordinate internationalization activities at the

institutional level was transformed by establishing the IOO. Through this office, the

structure became more unified under senior leadership. The function was also expanded

by adding the task force function to plan and coordinate the implementation of

internationalization initiatives with the traditional operational function to carry out

routine business and support international activities.

Restructuring began with the establishment of the International Affairs

Department as a new administrative department. Historically, Old Teikoku University

had two administrative support units, the Academic Exchange Division and the Student

Exchange Division, under two different departments to fulfill the operational function for

international exchange activities. In 2004 in the face of corporatization, they were unified

as the newly established International Affairs Department. Although these units were

unified structurally, due to the decentralized campus system, the International Affairs

Department is located on two different campuses with two separate service divisions: the

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Student Exchange Division and the Academic Exchange Division. The Academic

Exchange Division is located on the same campus as the university-wide administrative

units and research centers while the Student Exchange Division is located on the same

campus as the center of student activities, in the Center of International Exchange, with

whom the Student Exchange Division works closely.

In 2005, the IOO was established to increase the capacity to implement the

internationalization strategy. The Executive Vice President for International Affairs was

appointed as the Director of the IOO. In practice, the extant International Affairs

Department became the IOO, adding the task force function and under the direct

supervision of a senior leader (Figure 12). To fulfill the task force function, two

coordinators were hired. They were fluent in English, received master’s degrees from

foreign institutions, and had international working experience. One coordinator is

allocated to the Academic Exchange Division, and the other coordinator is allocated to

the Student Exchange Division.

The Center for International Exchange has been the main university-wide unit to

manage international student exchange and education activities and to conduct research

on the relevant issues at the institutional level since its foundation in 1993. This center

provides three main services: Japanese language programs, student advising, and an

educational exchange program. The center has only three faculty members since faculty

members for Japanese language programs were just recently transferred to another

department. Three faculty members provide all educational and advising services related

to international student exchange activities. In 2008, the center also began developing and

coordinating short-term study abroad programs and some initiatives on curriculum

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internationalization such as extra-curriculum activities related to English language. As

these tasks increased at the center, collaboration with the Student Exchange Division

increased. Even though in the organizational chart they are considered separate entities,

the two departments are located in the same building and work very closely and

collaboratively to promote university-wide international exchange and education.

Another important change in the Center for International Exchange is that it came

under direct senior leadership in 2005 since a senior administrator in charge of

internationalization began holding the position of center director. Until 2005, any senior

faculty member from any college could be elected by a steering committee of the center

and appointed by the president every few years. Since 2005, however, the position has

been appointed by the Executive Vice President for International Affairs. In 2006, the

new position of the Vice President for International Student Exchange was established to

specifically work on the issue of educational exchange. In 2008, he was appointed

Director of the Center for International Exchange.

A faculty member highlighted the impact of this vice president position that

specialized in the international education issue by comparing the importance of this role

with the executive vice president supervising overall internationalization. Since the vice

president became the director of the center, this faculty member recognized an increase in

senior leadership and communication between the leader and the staff members:

…Since executive vice presidents and vice presidents are extremely busy, they can be nominal directors, but there is a director who initiates very practical ideas and materializes them like the current director [the Vice President for International Student Exchange]…(111-65).

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In summary, the more unified structure under senior administrative leadership

expanded the role of the functions of the extant units for international exchange and

education and increased collaboration among the units. The extant administrative support

units for international exchange served only the operational function; however, after

adding new coordinators, the units developed the task force function. Furthermore, the

direct senior leadership enhanced its capacity to plan and manage the implementation of

internationalization activities. Specifically, there was increased capacity to develop new

educational initiatives with the newly created position of Vice President for International

Student Exchange who also became the Director of the Center for International

Exchange. Furthermore, the collaboration between the Center for International Exchange

and the administrative unit for international student exchange increased as new

international educational activities were initiated. The physically close structure appeared

to help them collaborate effectively and efficiently. Finally, there was discussion on how

to further develop a unified and inter-connected structure for international cooperation

and network under the senior leadership.

Coordination between the Central Administrative System and Colleges

I next discuss the coordination between the central administrative system and

colleges regarding internationalization at two levels: at the policy-making level and at the

implementation level. At Old Teikoku University, coordination relied on two general

communication networks: monthly deans meetings, and e-mail communication among

people who held positions related to international exchange and education.

As discussed above, in terms of the issues at the policy-making level, Old

Teikoku University used to have a collegiate representative council to discuss the matters

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of internationalization. These representative members played a role of communicating

with their individual colleges the decisions and issues discussed related to

internationalization at the central level. To improve the functionality of the dominant

coalition regarding internationalization, however, the council was replaced by the OIES,

which consisted of senior administrators and faculty and staff members from

internationally active departments. Now, the formal communication on

internationalization issues between the senior administration and all colleges is only in

the deans meeting. A senior leader commented on the dilemma that the change in the

policy-making process had created. He particularly highlighted the problem of gaining

collaboration from all colleges.

…Therefore, the Office of International Exchange Strategy (OIES) does not consist of representatives of all colleges. We have faculty members at colleges where [international] exchange is active or they have a large international student population, for example, the Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Medicine, but we don’t have faculty members [in OIES] from colleges with few [international] students, for example, the College of Education. The system is very practical and essential...Indeed, we could have input from the main colleges or colleges where international exchange is active, but there are some issues that we have to process based on input from all colleges including colleges where international exchange is not so active. It is kind of difficult. I am experiencing difficulty. As the institutional decision-making system goes, both approaches have strong points and shortcomings. It would be better to formally make all decisions at the council or meeting consisting of all collegiate representatives, but the meeting would become a mere name. Then, if we gathered only dedicated faculty members from colleges substantially involved in [internationalization] and made decisions, there could be a risk of causing discontent like, “Decisions were made without our noticing it.” It is like swinging of a pendulum. The current system has functionality at the cost of formality… (11-15).

Old Teikoku University changed the dominant coalition that discussed the issues of

internationalization from a representative model to a top-down model to increase the

function of policy-making. This senior director pointed out that the top-down model has a

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challenge of bringing everyone on board but it has increased the functionality of the

system.

Another coordination issue at the implementation level is the formal

communication network among units specializing in international exchange at the central

and college levels. At the central level, the IOO and the Center for International

Exchange are currently the core organizations coordinating internationalization activities.

At the college level, there is generally a staff member appointed to deal with matters of

international student exchanges. Some colleges have a faculty member appointed as an

international student advisor while three colleges established their own international

exchange unit with a full-time faculty member specializing in international exchange.

Currently, there are no formal meetings or a communication network among them. The

communication is limited to essential need-related routine business, or an ad-hoc manner

based on emerging issues. One faculty member claimed that there was a need for a

collaborative system especially among international exchange units between at the

institutional and college levels:

…There is coordination for businesslike matters. Such coordination is important, but I believe that we need more than that. It is essential to have cooperation among the units playing the key role [of international exchange]. As mentioned above, at Old Teikoku University, college-centralism is strong. It is difficult to make the [university] system centralized, so it needs to establish a system to work in close cooperation among departments [the International Operation Office], the Center for International Exchange, and the international exchange units at colleges…(12-81).

In summary, coordination regarding internationalization in the central

administrative system and colleges was examined at two levels. At the policy-making

level, the monthly deans meeting is the only place for formal communication on the issue

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of internationalization between the senior administration and all colleges since the model

of the council on the issue of internationalization changed from a representative model to

a top-down selective model. At the implementation level, coordination is currently at a

minimum level of necessary routine business or is conducted in an ad-hoc manner when

issues arise.

New Actors for Internationalization

As discussed above, the senior administration has paid increasing attention to

matters of internationalization. The change in senior leadership regarding

internationalization and participants in the internationalization strategic planning team

was already discussed. In particular, many interviewees recognized that the commitment

to internationalization from the president increased since the current president was

installed and established the University Action Plan. Besides the preexisting position of

the Executive Vice President for International Affairs, the new position of Vice President

for International Student Exchange was established under the leadership of the current

president. Further, he called for two project teams to make recommendations on the

system and on educational exchange for further internationalization.

Besides the strengthened leadership of the senior administration, new types of

actors in coordinating the implementation of internationalization initiatives emerged. As

the amount and diversity in international activities increased, there has been an increased

need for staff with skills to plan and manage the implementation of international

activities. First, as mentioned above, two coordinator positions were established at the

International Affairs Bureau/IOO in 2005 with competitive government funds. They

continue to be hired under a yearly contract and serve on the task force. The tasks of

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these positions require international exchange expertise including English language

fluency for business, international working experience, and skills to manage and

negotiate in non-Japanese environments (11-13, 112-26, & 117-13-14). Some

interviewees pointed out that the existing administrative support staff members do not

have these skills since they are not required for the work they have been doing. One

interviewee stated:

Well, the Japanese university system is a two-layered system. There are faculty members, and staff members are under them. Of course, at foreign universities, there are staff members, but they are no more than assistants. However, the regular staff members [the administrative staff members at foreign universities] are people with certain [professional] backgrounds. On the other hand, for a long time, our [administrative] system has been a system in which faculty members tell the administrative support staff members what to do. The faculty members make a plan, and then the staff members follow the procedures. We have been functioning in that way for a long time. Therefore, it just began that the administrative support staff members take part in institutional planning and management as well as support for education and research. There are very few people who can really take this role. Moreover, the quality is still low compared with people at foreign institutions (112-117).

This interviewee also pointed out that the current, simple, two-layered system of faculty

members and administrative support staff members did not nurture administrative staff

with specialized knowledge and skills. Another interviewee also identified the issue of

the existing personnel system. He pointed out the issue that the rotation system, in which

the administrative support staff members are rotated among different departments every

few years, is not aimed at nurturing specialization. However, due to the change in tasks

required for expansion of international exchange, the current personnel system is not

adequate to develop the necessary human resources anymore:

In the past, staff members at Japanese [national] universities were national civil servants before corporatization of national universities. They were rotated every two or three years. In some cases, they developed their career as civil servants by

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moving from our university to Yamagata University, and then to Tokyo University….To become a world-class university, as globalization is proceeding, the type of work which is not routine, increases…. In the old system, administrative support staff members changed every two or three years. A staff member worked for international exchange for two years, then moved to student services, and then moved to finance. It is not a system that nurtures specialists. It is a system that nurtures generalists in the university administrative support while letting them learn various [functions of the university]. Although they became good at routine work, they were rarely nurtured as specialists in international exchange…(11-13).

This change in the quality of administrative work in internationalization required staff

members with specialized skills to support international exchange and education

activities. The shortage of qualified staff members resulted in hiring more specialized

individuals who could immediately take on the task force function.

Besides the change in the quality, the amount of administrative work in

internationalization increased. The number of administrative support staff members at the

International Affairs Bureau/IOO increased by hiring additional operational staff

members. They were contract workers hired through temp agencies and they had the

English proficiency skills, which the existing staff members lacked. They also tended to

have experience in studying abroad. Some colleges also hired these individuals as

additional administrative support staff members.

Besides hiring additional staff members with English proficiency, there were

efforts to increase international skills, especially English language skills among the

current staff members, by providing English language courses as human resource training

in 2005. For the past seven or eight years, one staff member per year also participated in

a government administrator training program for international exchange, in which they

study English and receive training on international exchange at American universities for

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one year. Moreover, interviews in English became a part of the university’s protocol to

hire new employees in 2007. Although these efforts were recognized, many interviewees

cited the lack of English fluency in the extant administrative support staff members as a

major issue that impeded the promotion of internationalization.

Another pivotal role of the faculty specializing in international exchange is their

need to manage the implementation of internationalization initiatives especially related to

education. At the university-wide level, the faculty members at the Center for

International Exchange take on an additional key role of coordinating new university-

wide international education programs such as study abroad programs and extra English

curriculum courses. At the college level, three colleges with a large number of

international students established a full-time faculty position specializing in international

education and exchange. These colleges have maintained their own units for international

exchange and education, but originally the faculty positions with the main duty of

international exchange and education were not full-time positions. The College of

Engineering established a full-time faculty position in the late 1990s while two other

colleges also established positions recently. The College of Economic and Management

established one in 2004, and the College of Science established one in 2008. Both of the

new faculty members were hired under three-year contracts. One faculty member

specializes in international education. The expertise of the other faculty members is

relevant to the fields of science and technology. Two of these faculty members graduated

with a Ph.D. degree from U.S. universities. Their duties include teaching courses and

managing programs and initiatives regarding international exchange activities at their

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colleges. Two of these faculty members are also members of sub-committees on

international issues at the institutional level.

One senior leader discussed the need for more faculty members specializing in

international exchange:

…The project teams were established to deal with various issues of the university….in terms of [internationalizing] education, in various ways, for example, increasing the number of faculty members at the Center for International Exchange. This [proposal] was just recently approved. Then, there are faculty members who are making efforts [at the college level]. [The Center for International Exchange] needs to develop a collaborative system with such faculty members at the international exchange units at colleges…(13-47).

The senior leader continued to explain the need for specialized faculty members due to

the change in international exchange illustrating this need with the case of the College of

Science:

Well, international student support still accounts for a large amount of their work….Now, international exchange is changing. It is more than international student support. Besides the remaining amount of work related to international student support, the work is increasing such as sending Japanese students abroad, international exchange agreements, and managing double-degree programs. [Now], the [international exchange] support units [at the College of Science] are expected to do this work; therefore, they are doing it (13-51-52).

In summary, new actors emerged to fulfill different functions to promote

internationalization as the amount and variety of international activities increased. At the

strategic planning level, senior leaders began taking on a more active role in strategic

planning for internationalization. In particular, the president’s commitment to

internationalization was largely recognized among the interviewees. At the task force

function level, the new position of international project coordinator was established at the

institutional level, and the pivotal role of faculty members specializing in international

exchange increased at both the university-wide and college levels. English fluency and

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past international experience are common characteristics in these positions. Both the

manager position and the faculty position are full-time specialized positions in

international exchange and education. At the operational function level, additional

administrative support staff members with strong English language skills were hired as

contract or temporary workers.

A major issue identified in terms human resources was the limited number of staff

members who could support the implementation of internationalization due to a change in

the work related to internationalization initiatives. Some interviewees indicated that the

extant personnel systems such as the simple two-layered university system and the

rotation system of administrative support staff members were inadequate to nurture the

human resources necessary to implement the new internationalization initiatives.

Old Teikoku University’s Process of Internationalization

The traditional and historical role of Old Teikoku University as an old imperial

university has been to promote internationalization largely focusing on research aspects

including not only promotion of international joint research and scholar exchanges but

also international graduate education programs. Due to its strong research orientation, the

limited effort toward internationalization of education was identified among interviewees.

In particular, the need to internationalize liberal arts education was discussed among

faculty members in the fields of social sciences and humanities. While international

academic collaboration is promoted across colleges, implemented internationalization

initiatives reflect the historical prominence of natural science and technology disciplines.

The process of internationalization was historically characterized as a collection

of individual faculty members’ efforts and collegiate efforts depending on their values in

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internationalism related to their research and emerging needs for international students

within the colleges. For example, the College of Engineering established its own office

for international exchange and education much earlier than the university-wide Center for

International Exchange. Then, the College of Science and College of Economics and

Management also established their own international exchange offices due to the large

number of international students at their colleges and the need to respond to their

expanding international exchange activities. This approach could result in physically

decentralizing the structure of the university and create strong autonomy of colleges.

After corporatization, the internationalization process has gradually moved

toward “centralized decentralization” (Henkel, 1997, p. 137). The university increased

the direction of the senior administration by establishing the Central Council for

Internationalization Planning by appointing an executive vice president as its chair. The

members of the council included more senior administration and administrative support

staff than academic staff. Although establishing the steering core for internationalization

planning with increased leadership of senior administration was an important change in

the process of internationalization, the current presidential commitment was a milestone

to begin institutionalizing internationalization into the university as a whole. His

University Action Plan diffused internationalization as an institutional agenda in the

university community. Many interviewees associated internationalization with his

University Action Plan. At the same time, the university-wide units for international

exchange (i.e., the Center for International Exchange, OIES, and IOO) came under the

direct supervision of the senior administration and expanded its function with additional

staff members with international expertise.

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CHAPTER V: INTERNATIONLAIZATION PROCESS AT FUKUGO UNIVERSITY


Fukugo University was established as a national amalgamated university under

the unified national university system after the New School Education Law in 1949. In

2004, it was incorporated in accordance with the National University Corporation Law.

National amalgamated universities were established to develop one university in each

prefecture with the purpose of providing liberal arts education, teacher education, a

medical school, and academic disciplines relevant to local industry (Amano, 2008, p. 9).

In practice, those universities were composed of extant higher education institutions with

different specialties. In the case of Fukugo University, it was originally founded by

merging eight higher educational institutions in one prefecture. Five of these eight

institutions were institutions for teacher training and education, two were technical

schools, and later a medical college was added. Today, Fukugo University is known as a

leading institution in the field of education in Japan due to its original foundation. It is

also a prominent comprehensive research-oriented university comprised of 11

undergraduate and 12 graduate schools.

Fukugo University is located in a prefecture globally known for being the

International City of Peace, so the notion of peace is an important characteristic of

Fukugo University’s identity. The university houses the Institute for Peace Science which

was established as the first academic research center in Japan in 1975 and still remains

the only peace research institute among national universities in Japan. The university is

also known for its research on the issues of radiation biology and medicine because of the

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catastrophic experiences at the end of WWII resulting in serious consequences for the

region.

Fukugo University has three campuses. The main campus is located in a suburban

city with a population of 186,000, and the two other campuses are located in the

prefectural capital. Due to the original foundation of the university, the colleges were

spread across various parts of the prefecture. The main campus was developed in the

early 1980s to the mid-1990s to unify the scattered colleges but they all moved to the

main campus, except the College of Medicine and the College of Dentistry, making it one

of the largest campuses in Japan. The main campus is about 40 minutes away by local

train from the prefectural capital. This city has become a thriving university town around

Fukugo University until the ratio of the college-age population to the general population

in the city doubled, and the foreign population increased to 2.6% of the total population.

The total university student population is 16,000. Graduate students account for

28%, with 60% of the graduate students studying in the fields of science, technology and

medicine. Fifty-five percent of undergraduate students in those fields continue on to

graduate school in addition to 17% of undergraduates in the fields of social sciences and

humanities.

The mission of Fukugo University is “education and research, through which

contributions are made to society” (University Action Plan, 2008). As one of Japan’s

national universities, Fukugo University aims to foster people who are capable of making

contributions to society and to conduct scientific research instrumental that solves 21st

century issues. To fulfill its mission, the university has five guiding principles. The first

and fourth guiding principles clearly recognize the role of the university in the

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international context. The first principle is development of intellectual attitudes for

peaceful problem solving domestically and globally, and the fourth principle is local and

international collaboration by creating a university with an international awareness

(Guiding Principles, July 20, 2009, website).


As a research-oriented national university, Fukugo University has historically

promoted international academic exchange activities including scholarly exchanges,

international symposia, and seminars. The university has nine research centers including

research centers on higher education, peace science, and radiation biology and medicine.

These centers are distinctive to the university reflecting its historical characteristics and

playing a key role in academic exchanges both domestically and internationally.

Fukugo University has also established a series of international-theme education

and research facilities, which became the key units to promote internationalization at the

institutional level. The university first founded the International Student Center in 1990,

which was one of the first of three centers in Japanese national universities. The

International Student Center has played a key role in promoting international student

exchange as well as internationalization on campus since its foundation. However, its

physical presence is not apparent as a university-wide academic institute since it resides

in the College of Education building. The center provides international students with

Japanese language programs, advising and counseling services, and extra curriculum to

promote cross-cultural understanding. Since 1996, this center has also provided

international students with a short-term student exchange program with English as the

instruction medium. More recently, in 1998, they began supporting community

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internationalization by implementing an international volunteer program to promote

international understanding through interaction between domestic and international

populations. As a part of the program, international students visit local schools to

participate in classes promoting international understanding.

The Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation was

established in 1994. The Graduate School increased the accessibility of the international

students to Japanese education by providing programs in both English and Japanese and

adopting October admissions as well as April admissions. At the Graduate School,

international students account for about 60% of the total student population. More

recently, the Graduate School began contributing to internationalizing undergraduate

curriculum by providing a special program as a part of the undergraduate curriculum.

In 1997, the Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education was

established as the first research institution in the field of international development

education in Japan. It also functions as a network center for practitioners and researchers

in the field in Japan. The Graduate School and the Center in the field of international

development play a significant role in emerging entrepreneur activities in international

development cooperation and contribute to the development of international education

programs in collaboration with other colleges and departments.

Another important education and research institution related to

internationalization is the Institute for Foreign Language Research and Education. The

institute was established in 1997 to lead and support foreign language education in both

undergraduate and graduate programs. The institution is the key unit for the current

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English education reform. Moreover, the institute coordinates study abroad programs

with the theme of foreign languages and cultures.

As a part of campus internationalization, the university has two types of

dormitories for international students: one only for international students and the other for

both domestic and international students. Fukugo University also recently developed a

western type of café on campus, which many international students frequent.

Internationalization emerged more clearly with an institutional agenda around

2000 even though the importance of the international dimension has been traditionally

recognized at Fukugo University. In 2000, Fukugo University announced a strategic

institutional plan to guide its reform proactively by preparing for the forthcoming

corporatization of national universities. Under this plan, Fukugo University stated that it

aims to become a leading international research university developing both local and

international networks. In 2001, the university set up the ultimate goal of becoming a

unique, world-class research university, and in 2003, they announced a long-term

institutional vision with strategies and a brief action plan to achieve the ultimate goal

within 10-18 years. In 2004, the first 2004-2010 mid-term plans and objectives were

developed, in which international exchange was listed as an agenda item. In 2007,

Fukugo University reviewed those reports and developed a further comprehensive

University Action Plan for implementation through 2011. The purpose of this action plan

is to increase an understanding and awareness of the institutional policy among all

members of the university. In this Action Plan, internationalization is identified as one of

the six agenda items with an emphasis on the development of international exchange.

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While the overall institutional strategic planning process was evolving, in 2002 a

working group was established under the direct leadership of the president to specifically

develop a strategy for internationalization, and in 2003 the first internationalization

strategy was developed. In 2005, with acquisition of government competitive funds, the

university established the International Strategy Headquarters (ISH) as an institutional

core unit of internationalization under the direct leadership of the senior administration.

In another groundbreaking initiative, in 2002, an overseas office was founded in China to

promote international exchange activities for research, education and academic and

industry collaboration.

The trends of international exchanges are presented in Tables 16-21. In terms of

international exchange agreements, the oldest international exchange agreement was

made in 1979. Since then, the number of agreements has greatly increased until May

2008 when the number of international exchange agreements was 95 at the university

level (Table 16) and 133 at the department level (Table 17). Within the past 10 years, the

number of agreements at the university level has increased 3.8 times, and the number at

the department level has increased 3.1 times.


Oldest

agreement

1988

1998

2008

# of agreement

# of countries

# of agreement

# of countries

# of agreement

# of countries

1979

6

5

25

13

95

26

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Oldest agreement

1988

1998

2008

# of agreement

# of countries

# of agreement

# of countries

# of agreement

# of countries

1983 in Medicine

7

4

43

20

133

36

The number of international visiting scholars slightly increased between 2003 and

2006 although in 2006 the number was 510, which was about a 9% decrease from the

previous year’s total of 558 (Table 18). In 2006, the university had about 0.3 visiting

scholars for every faculty member. The number of faculty studying overseas also

increased by 26% between 2003 and 2006. In 2006, 2,138 faculty members studied

abroad (Table 19). In other words, each faculty member studied overseas 1.31 times.

However, the number has decreased since 2004. Finally, there were 4514 international

faculty members, which accounted for 3.7% of the total faculty population in 2008 (Table

20).


2003

2004

2005

2006

2007


473 0.29

466 0.28

558 0.34

510 0.31

N/A

14 The number included professors, associate professors, lecturers, assistant professors (jyokyo), and research associates (jyosyu).

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Table 19. Trend of Faculty Studying Abroad Year

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

# of faculty studying abroad # per academic staff

1,703 1.03

2,320 1.41

2,233 1.38

2,138 1.31

N/A


2008

# of total faculty

1,594

# of int’l faculty

45

% of int’l faculty to total

3.7%

The international student population trends are presented in Table 21. Although

international students have increased, the 5% ratio compared to the larger student body

has remained stable for the past six years. In 2008, international students represented 69

countries. Fukugo University has a large number of international graduate students,

which accounts for about 68% of the total international student population. At the

graduate level, international students account for 13% of the total graduate population

while at the undergraduate level, international students account for only 1% of the total

undergraduate population. In terms of Japanese students studying abroad, 1.2 % of the

students participated in 2008.


2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

# of int’l students % of int’l students to total students # of countries of origin

762 5% 54

768 5% 67

746 5% 70

727 5% 78

755 5% 76

842 5% 69

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Finally, Fukugo University has been actively involved in two international

consortiums. One consortium consists of over 300 members from 34 countries in Asia

and the Pacific and aims to enhance international understanding through increased

mobility. The Executive Vice President for Research was one of three initiators to

establish this consortium. The President of Fukugo University is currently the 2009-2010

chair of the consortium. In 2000, Fukugo University also joined a consortium with the

commitment to the philosophy of global citizenship. The 11 member universities from

nine countries in this consortium have actively collaborated in promoting the

internationalization of the member universities including Fukugo University. They have

also implemented various international initiatives at the institutional level with the

member institutions. Fukugo University implemented various types of international

education programs such as a summer seminar on global citizenship in 2006, two long-

distance liberal arts courses targeting international understanding in collaboration with

two other member institutions in 2006, and a double master’s degree program in 2009.

Another consortium initiative is an administrative support staff exchange with Fukugo

University sending a staff member to a member institution in 2007.

Objectives and Rationale of Internationalization

Formulating the vision and strategy of institutional internationalization began in

2002 with the establishment of the Working Group on Internationalization Strategy;

however, the 2000 institutional strategic plan already indicated that internationalization

was inevitable so the university can achieve its ultimate goal of becoming a unique

world-class research university. The first internationalization strategy was announced in

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2003 after Fukugo University hired a consultant from a foreign university to conduct a

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis, and the working

group developed the first strategic plan for internationalization. The internationalization

strategy was refined by the newly established International Strategy Headquarters (ISH),

reflecting the internationalization issues in the overall institutional 2004-2010 mid-term

plans and objectives, which were announced in 2005. The strategic planning for

internationalization was the first institutional effort to conduct strategic planning. This

overall experience helped the university establish the 2007 Action Plan.

In the new internationalization strategy, internationalization was clearly identified

as a means to achieve the institutional goals and objectives. It outlined how to expand

educational and research activities internationally as well as how to promote its

international societal contribution based on selected tactics. The four identified objectives

of internationalization include knowledge (support for international research

collaboration), people (education to foster individuals with international competence),

international social contribution (development of an institution system for further

intellectual and human resource contributions to international development), and an

internationalized campus (development of an infrastructure to support international

activities).

The four objectives of internationalization refer to three main functions, research,

education, and service, as well as to the campus infrastructure. The implemented

initiatives are discussed later, but they are largely related to the objective to increase the

international mobility of staff and students and to increase the international graduate

student population even though these initiatives not only add new programs but also

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establish a systematic approach toward international mobility. In particular, establishing a

system that supports international development and cooperation enterprises is unique to

Fukugo University because it attempts to enhance a distinctive area of the university.

The new internationalization strategy was developed under the changing

environment where the universities are facing emerging global competition due to the

globalization of higher education and the corporatization of national universities in Japan

(Internationalization Strategy, 2005, p. 3). Many interviewees perceived that

internationalization was associated with Fukugo University’s institutional survival and

international competitiveness. One senior leader stated:

To survive as a research university, [Fukugo] University needs to be a university described with adjectives such as global or world. A global university needs various elements. Without efforts, we cannot raise our ranking as a global university (21-13).

His statement implies that internationalization is perceived as an effort to increase the

international competitiveness of the university. He further described how Fukugo

University can be internationally competitive:

If we were Tokyo University or Kyoto University, we would compete in many fields with universities around the world. Their budgets are about five times as large as ours. [Their] traditions are different. They can compete comprehensively in various fields around the world. Our budget is one-fifth [that of theirs]. Although we have a large student population, the number of faculty is small. Since we cannot compete across all fields like Tokyo University or Kyoto University, we have to make full use of our distinctiveness. “Unique” means that we should carefully consider what our university must do, which fields are right for us, and how we should do it, and then we can compete internationally and strategically…(21-4).

This senior leader explained the difference in the meaning of international

competitiveness between Fukugo University and the top two universities in Japan.

Because of its smaller capacity compared with the other prestigious universities in Japan,

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he claimed that Fukugo University needs to strategically invest in distinctive fields that

“Fukugo University undertakes as its duty toward the world… and Fukugo University

excels in” (21-5), which eventually would develop Fukugo University into a unique,

world-class university.

Some interviewees also linked financial resources and internationalization. Due to

the current government policies on higher education, the presence of international

activities is perceived as a key criterion to obtain government competitive funds. A

faculty member said, “…As an institution, Fukugo University needs to promote

internationalization because of the government financial policy on higher education…”

(216-27). Another senior leader clearly stated that Fukugo University has become

increasingly responsive to the government’s incentive grant policies as they relate to

internationalization and has made strategic efforts to obtain government competitive

funds:

...Fukugo University decided to become a research university and a global university in the world. To do so, we have to get funds and do something. Without doing anything, we cannot become such a university. Therefore, we are very aware of [government] policies on higher education. [Government] policies on higher education [became] the incentive grant policies. [MEXT] leads higher education institutions in a particular direction by providing incentives. So we choose good ones among all government initiatives. Once we choose it, we try to get it at any cost….There are many initiatives related to international [activities]. For example, [there is] the policy on special programs in English [as the language of the instruction], the policy to promote short-term study abroad, and the policy on establishing international university networks. Then, [MEXT] provides the universities with 5,000,000 yen for three years, for example, or gives you one billion yen…There are many initiatives like that…(21-20).

Another faculty member suggested that internationalization was a way for Fukugo

University to take advantage of external funds since international activities are the

university’s forte:

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…Super-prestigious universities don’t have a problem with finances since funds are collected through various sources. Although Fukugo University is considered a prestigious university, at our university level, we really have to make efforts to get money. We are struggling with collecting external funds. Then, internationalization comes in. By developing various international projects, we can win external funding support. I think that it is one of the objectives of internationalization….That is to say, as a university, we need funds to operate our institution. Internationalization can be an important key word as a measure to obtain funds…(212-9-10). Another faculty member more clearly identified internationalization as a

characteristic of Fukugo University, and voiced his belief that it should be used as a

distinctive characteristic for the university’s survival:

After corporatization, perhaps the biggest concern of the senior administration is survival. I think it is survival of the university, itself. In terms of why it is survival, survival means differentiation. It is how to make use of the outstanding characteristics of Fukugo University. In Japan, we have a relatively good number of international students although the number is not the highest. In terms of university evaluation by the National Institution for Academic Degree and University Evaluation, internationalization at our university was highly evaluated. That’s why we cannot avoid internationalization as one of the future strategies of Fukugo University. Internationalization has significance in Fukugo University…(211-2).

Fukugo University has a history of having proactively established international

theme units. The International Student Center was established as one of the first three

among over 100 national universities. Fukugo University also established a research

center and graduate school in the field of international development and cooperation in

the 1990s and an overseas office in China in 2002. One interviewee claimed that it was

the first overseas office in China among all Japanese universities (210-11). They also

developed the first internationalization strategy before the government initiative for the

International Strategy Headquarters. Thus, this international characteristic has developed

strategically at Fukugo University over the past 20 years. Due to the recent increase in

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government incentive grants on internationalization, some interviewees also perceived

the university’s focus on internationalization as its strength for obtaining those grants.

Some faculty members also discussed internationalization as the university’s link

to survival concerning the global student market. They claimed that recruiting talented

international graduate students would become an increasingly important objective of

internationalization at Fukugo University. One faculty member in the field of social

sciences stated:

…One of the [internationalization] pillars is how we will receive international students—we diversify educational programs and accept various international students. The international student market in Asia is large, especially from China. Without considering this matter, I think we probably cannot survive (211-83).

Two graduate schools, one in the field of the social sciences and humanities and one in

the field of science and technology, began offering entrance exams at the Beijing

Research Center in 2005. Three other graduate schools, in the fields of social sciences

and humanities, science, and technology, held school fairs in 2007, and two out of those

three planned to offer entrance exams in 2008.

Two faculty members in social sciences and humanities gave examples that the

international student population is already becoming crucial to the survival of some

graduate schools. Their graduate schools are facing difficulties fulfilling the graduate

student quotas with domestic students because of the declining traditional domestic

student population. One faculty member stated;

…The initial reason to establish the Beijing Research Center was that it is realistically almost impossible to fulfill the quota of graduate students [at some graduate schools] within Japan. As the birthrate is decreasing, the international student population is becoming a big market, or the population is definitely appealing. Although I am not sure if I can call it internationalization, it is certain that securing talented international students is an objective of internationalization

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at Fukugo University. In order to do that, the ultimate, ideal goal is to develop a desirable university. In other words, the university would have drawing power that makes students come to the university from overseas. Consequently, internationalization is very important. Although we try to recruit them, it is difficult if the university doesn’t appeal to the international student population. Such an objective is also in a lofty ideal (210-6).

This faculty member also indicated that a change in the perception of international

graduate students is an essential student population characteristic to support the survival

of some graduate schools and requires approaches to the international student market and

development of curriculum and opportunities for that specific population.

Another faculty member noted that due to the graduate student quota issue, his

department needed to consider developing a program for international students with

English as the medium of the instruction.

…I have a feeling that my department cannot live without internationalization. What it means is that, as mentioned before, the issue [is] to fulfill the quota of graduate students, especially master’s students. To fulfill the quota, we have to secure graduate students from somewhere. In the case of our department, a potential option is to collaborate with the Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation. The Graduate School receives foreigners including foreign officials through JICA and JAIS. It is possible for our department to secure graduate students in collaboration with the Graduate School. We have many faculty members who were educated in the U.S., so they can deal with international students. We can offer the courses in English. We can recruit graduate students by developing a new program. In that sense, we are under even more pressure to internationalize. I have a feeling that we have to take action. In my opinion, we [as a department] have to choose internationalization not because International Strategy Headquarters asked us to, but out of our need to secure graduate students (212-46).

Due to the domestic demographic changes, some graduate schools are finding it

difficult to fulfill the graduate student quota with domestic students. International

students are being perceived as another core student population rather than a peripheral

one at the graduate level. To recruit international students competitively, they identified

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the need to diversify education programs and opportunities to attract talented

international graduate students.

In summary, because of the changes in the environment surrounding higher

education in Japan such as the decreasing 18-year-old population and corporatization,

internationalization has become a salient institutional agenda at Fukugo University.

Historically, internationalization has been promoted at the institutional level at Fukugo

University so that it is now perceived as a key characteristic of the university. However,

by setting up a unique world-class research university as the ultimate institutional goal,

internationalization has been identified as a strategy to achieve the goal. Due to its

institutional capacity, the institutional approach to becoming a world-class university is

being more selective and concentrating on the strengths of the university. Fukugo

University aims to become a world-class university by highlighting its internationally

distinctive or high potential fields.

Interviewees often associated internationalization with the notion of institutional

survival and international competitiveness. In the 2005 internationalization strategy,

internationalization refers to how to expand educational and research activities

internationally including an increase in international mobility, especially international

recruitment of graduate students. It also focuses on the infrastructure and administrative

system to support international activities including the establishment of the system to

support international entrepreneurial activities in international development and

cooperation as well as academic-industry collaboration.

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In this section, objectives of internationalization and the context in which the

objectives were set up were examined. In the following section, the implemented

initiatives are examined in terms of their internationalization approach.


The following discussion of internationalization initiatives examines what kinds

of international programs and activities have been implemented according to the 2005

internationalization strategy. International activities increased and their scope was

broadened at Fukugo University. The implemented internationalization initiatives were

discussed with the interviewees in terms of two main university functions: research and

education. In addition, branding of the university as a new internationalization initiative

emerged through data analysis.

Research

A key objective of research on how to become a unique world-class research

university focused on the establishment of world-class research centers (2008 University

Action Plan, p.2). Fukugo University aimed to identify potential internationally

distinctive research fields or research projects and provide such research projects with

institutional support. The main initiatives identified for this objective are:

• To implement a senior administration initiative and support it to obtain the


• To create an alternative employment system for international recruitment of

talented young researchers.

• To establish a system to identify and support distinctive research activities.

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• To promote further development of international development cooperation

and international academic-industry collaboration as the university’s

distinctive research and education activities.

Fukugo University implemented the initiatives to support research fields and

projects that are or could become international centers of excellence in certain fields. This

establishment of centers of excellence was linked to obtaining competitive government

funds such as the 21st Century Center of Excellence (COE) program and the Global COE

program. One of the initiatives was the establishment of an institutional support system to

obtain those competitive government funds in 2007. Two staff positions were allocated

for this initiative. Government funds allow the universities to recruit talented researchers,

so the university implemented an alternative employment system for research projects to

hire researchers on a contract basis.

Another initiative is an institutional system to cultivate and assess research

activities that have potential to be internationally recognized. In 2003, the university

began institutionally acknowledging potential research projects and giving prioritized

support to those projects. Fukugo University aims to support and advance research

projects that could become future centers of excellence and obtain large competitive

government funds. The university developed a webpage where all selected high potential

research projects are listed with the details of the research activities. The webpage

currently has the information only in Japanese but the English companion website is

under construction. One senior leader revealed that, “…The next agenda is how the

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university [as an institution] can foster the Project Research Centers15 [referring to high

potential research projects] in international collaboration” (21-30). He further explained

the possible future institutional initiatives:

Everyone cannot necessarily collaboratively do research with scholars from different parts of the world. There are also scholars who don’t have friends in other countries. For example, by going to present at [international] conferences, they might have a chance to be asked to research together. If we hear about a story like that, we can think about inviting the scholar to Fukugo University or holding a symposium. We have to make such efforts from now on (21-32).

Another initiative is to promote international and social contributions through

collaboration in research and education with developing countries and industries. Fukugo

University has already established the units of international development cooperation in

education and research and industry-academic joint research enterprises. Based on these

units, the university aims to internationally promote research and education in those areas

as part of the university’s distinctive characteristics. Fukugo University also approaches

these activities as a potential alternative revenue resource. In the 2005

internationalization strategy, the university proposed promoting these activities as

business-like enterprises.

Fukugo University is Japan’s leading institution in the field of international

development and cooperation with the establishment of two academic units: a graduate

school and a research center. In the 2005 internationalization strategy, they identified the

need to develop an institution-wide system to support international development and

cooperation activities. To increase further active involvement of different departments in

15 The Project Research Centers are not physical research centers, but institutionally selected high potential research projects.

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international development cooperation, Fukugo University established an institutional-

level cooperative agreement with the three main international cooperation agencies from

2004 through 2006. An administrative unit for international exchange, the International

Planning and Cooperation Group, then began providing information and operational

support to departments and scholars to undertake these international development

projects.

In terms of industry-academic collaboration, in 2006, the Collaborative Research

Center established the International Division, and in 2008, they began their international

collaboration efforts in earnest starting with the obtained competitive governmental funds

for an international industry-academic collaboration.

In summary, promotion of international research activities resides principally in

faculty members. In accordance with corporatization, however, the increasing importance

of institutional-level initiatives to support international research activities was evident

when reviewing the implemented institutional initiatives for international activities in

research. The institutional-level key effort for internationalization of research targeted the

establishment of the university-wide system to recognize and nurture distinctive research

activities to increase the international competitiveness of the university. These efforts are

also largely associated with obtaining the competitive government funds. While the

challenge to obtain external funding was recognized due to its medium size as a leading

research-oriented university, all government competitive initiatives with an international

theme were identified as important sources of funding because of the university’s historic

international character.

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Education

The goal of education is to “cultivate human resources who recognize the value of

peace, are endowed with rich human qualities, maintain unbiased knowledge, and possess

a high degree of dignity” (University Action Plan, 2008, p. 1). To achieve this goal, the

university aims to “attain an advanced level of quality education” and to “build an

education system which is both trusted by society and recognized internationally”

(University Action Plan, 2008, p. 1). In the 2005 internationalization strategy, important

objectives are discussed including “providing an internationalized learning environment”

and making “the university open to international society and recognized around the

world” to “attract excellent international students with highly promising futures” to

achieve the institutional educational goals and objectives (Internationalization Strategy,

2005, p. 3). The implemented initiatives to achieve these objectives are (1) educational

programs in English targeting mainly international graduate students, (2) diversified

international learning opportunities for domestic students, and (3) English language

education reform.

Fukugo University has a large international graduate population that accounts for

almost 70% of the total international student population. The university provides four

international graduate programs that have adopted English as the language of instruction:

a master’s program in education, master’s and doctoral programs in international

development and cooperation, a doctoral program in engineering, and a doctoral twinning

program in dental science (Table 22). The master’s program in education is the only

graduate program in education instructed entirely in English in all of Japan which is

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significant because Fukugo University is a leading institution in the field of education in

Japan.

Table 22. International Graduate Program Programs

Target

First Year

A master’s and doctoral program in international development and cooperation A master’s program in education A doctoral program in engineering A doctoral twinning program in dental science

Int’l & Japanese students Int’l students Int’l students Int’l students

1994 2007 2007 2008

Another key feature of Fukugo University is that three out of four international

graduate programs were developed to especially target international students. In addition,

the Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, as a school, offers

the courses both in English and Japanese targeting both international and domestic

students. The learning environment at the Graduate School for International Development

and Cooperation is quite international since the ratio of international students to domestic

students is 6 to 4. To accommodate international students, Fukugo University adjusted its

admission timeframe. In general, April admission is the standard at Japanese

universities; however, except for the doctoral twining program in dental science, the

international graduate programs have adopted the more universal October admission

timeframe.

Fukugo University also began offering a double master’s degree program in

collaboration with member universities in an international consortium in 2009 (Table 23).

The Graduate Schools of Education, Social Sciences and International Development and

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Cooperation collaborate to offer the double degree program in which students obtain two

master’s degrees in fields related to global citizenship and peace from Fukugo

Universities and one of five partner universities in a minimum of two years. English is

the language of instruction at all consortium universities.

Table 23. Double Degree Program Degree

Graduate School

Partner Institutions

Language of instruction

Year

MA

The Graduate Schools of Education, Social Science, and International Development and Cooperation

5 member universities (Australia, South Korea, UK and Sweden) in an international university consortium

English

2009

Besides the international graduate programs and double degree graduate program,

Fukugo University provides international students with an exchange program opportunity

made up largely of undergraduate students from partner institutions. In the exchange

program, students study for a semester or a year and take special courses with credits

taught in English. The exchange program started with 17 students in 1996, and currently,

about 50 international students per year participate in the program. Two faculty members

at the International Student Center mainly coordinate the international exchange program

with administrative assistance provided by an administrative support unit. The special

courses are taught by the two faculty members along with faculty members from

academic departments who are willing to provide courses in English or provide academic

support in English.

One interviewee mentioned that applicants for the program have increased, but

they have to limit the number of participants to around 40-50 due to institutional capacity

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including housing and human resources (29-5). A few of the interviewees also mentioned

the difficulty in gaining faculty members’ cooperation to provide courses in English. The

interviewee also discussed the need to review the curriculum due to the change in the

purpose of studying abroad from cross-cultural experiential learning to an academic

learning opportunity that should be counted toward degree completion:

….Instead of only gaining international exchange experience, [studying abroad] means obtaining academic credits for completion of a bachelor’s degree at a student’s home university in the United States; for example, the student studies Japanese language courses for one year. Partner institutions began sending their students with the condition that the student could take courses for academic credit. Our program has been receiving these exchange students with English as the instruction language and attaching greater importance to the study abroad experience; however, now the program needs to integrate the purpose to obtain academic credits toward degree completion (29-8).

With this trend toward increasing international student exchange, Fukugo University is

considering how the current exchange program can be expanded.

Under the exchange program, Fukugo University also assists domestic students in

studying at foreign partner institutions. In 1997, only 14 students studied at foreign

partner institutions, but this number has now increased to 30 students per year. The

university has also been providing various short-term study abroad opportunities since

the early 1990s. The university has four English language and culture programs and one

Chinese language and culture program during summer or spring breaks and three foreign

language semester programs.

More recently, international internship programs were established especially for

graduate students. The Graduate School of Engineering and the Graduate School for

International Development and Cooperation implemented the initiative earlier, but in

2007, the Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation began

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coordinating a university-wide international internship program called the Global

Internship Program, in collaboration with five graduate schools and one research center.

The program is a comprehensive education program that begins with pre-departure

training on knowledge and communication skills to work in a developing country. This

program is open to all graduate students in any graduate school. Students then participate

in a one- to six-month internship related to their study interest, and share their experience

and research with colleagues and the university community after completion of the

internship.

The short-term study abroad programs are coordinated by different schools and

the Institute for Foreign Language Research and Education and supported and advertised

through the Student Exchange Division.

Besides study abroad programs, Fukugo University has been coordinating a

summer seminar on global citizenship since 2006 in collaboration with membership

universities in the international university consortium. About 60 students participate in

the seminar every year with a 2 to 1 ratio of students in Fukugo University compared to

foreign partner institutions. The study abroad programs discussed above are listed in

Table 24.

Foreign language skills are considered essential to international education.

Fukugo University generally requires undergraduate students to take six credits of

English courses and four credits of another foreign language. Fukugo University offers

11 foreign languages besides English and six of them are identified as foreign language

requirement courses. In the global era, English is becoming the lingua franca, so an

important skill for students is the ability to apply knowledge of English to practical use in

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their specialized fields. Thus, recently, Fukugo University implemented several initiatives

to improve English proficiency. In 1997, the Institute for Foreign Language Research and

Education was established as the key unit to develop and provide more effective foreign

language education through liberal arts education in this globalizing society, and it has

implemented the majority of new English language initiatives.

Table 24. Study Abroad Programs for Domestic Students Program Type

Programs


Exchange Program

• One semester or a year exchange

program with foreign partner universities

• The International Student

Center

Short-term program (summer and spring break)

• 3 language and culture programs (2

English and 1 Chinese)

• The Institute for Foreign

Language Research and Education, International Planning and Cooperation Group, and Beijing Research Center

Semester Language Program

• 1 English language program • 1 foreign language program

(students can choose one of the three foreign languages: English, French and German in the two programs)

• College of Education • College of Letters

Graduate Internship Program

• 2 graduate schools provide

international internship programs as curriculum.

• Global Internship Program

• The Graduate Schools of

Engineering and International Development and Cooperation

• The Graduate School of International Development and Cooperation

In 2003, Fukugo University began using standardized English proficiency tests

such as TOEFL and TOEIC to evaluate undergraduates’ English proficiency. After

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analyzing three years of data, a TOEIC score of 600 at the time of graduation was

suggested, so the College of Engineering adopted the score as a graduation requirement

for undergraduate students.

The formal English language curriculum was more diversified, but all students are

required to take at least six credits of English language courses. Besides traditional in-

class courses, the students use a computer assisted self-language learning system to help

them achieve a certain score in standardized English proficiency tests or study abroad

English language programs to fulfill the required credits. Students also can fulfill a part

of the required credits simply by satisfying a certain score in English proficiency tests

such as TOEFL and TOEIC.

In 2006, the university also began offering a special program to nurture English

proficiency for professional use through undergraduate education. The number of

registrants is limited to 25 students, who take special courses to obtain an English

proficiency TOEIC score of 730. Fukugo University also offers a similar type of program

in German.

Besides the formal curriculum, extra-curricular courses (no academic credits) are

provided including conversational English, pronunciation, a preparatory course for

TOEFL and TOEIC, and English discussion and presentation courses. Across these

initiatives, English education has emphasized self-learning and has been more

achievement-oriented to obtain practical skills.

In graduate education, the importance of academic English language skills has

increased. Thus, courses or seminars focusing on academic English skills such as English

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academic writing and presentation skills are offered at some graduate schools in Fukugo

University.

In summary, the internationalization of education has promoted student mobility,

especially recruiting international graduate students and sending Japanese students

abroad, and emphasized the importance of English academic skills and communication

skills. Adopting English as the language of instruction is a key medium to increase access

for international students. A faculty interviewee in the field of social sciences voiced his

strong support, “Courses in English? It is important to promote internationalization. It is

getting impractical to wait [for international students] to be proficient in Japanese” (24-

79). The graduate schools providing programs with English as the language of instruction

have reflected the university’s historical distinctive characteristics such as education,

engineering and medicine. The graduate school with both English and Japanese as the

languages of instruction is a newly established graduate school with an international

theme.

To internationalize education for domestic students, diversification of study

abroad opportunities and English language education reform were implemented. Three

key institutions in Fukugo University besides the International Student Center now

promote these initiatives including the Graduate School of International Development

and Cooperation, the Institute for Foreign Language Research and Education, and the

Beijing Research Center (an overseas office). These units have helped increase the

amount and the types of study abroad opportunities.

The Graduate School of International Development and Cooperation and the

Institute for Foreign Language Research and Education have also contributed to

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internationalizing the undergraduate curriculum by establishing special programs with

respect to foreign language skills or international development and cooperation.

Furthermore, there is an effort to design courses for domestic undergraduate students to

learn subjects in English; however, such an effort relies on individual faculty members’

motivation rather than being promoted based on the institutional systemic support such as

release time or institutional funds for international curriculum development.

University Branding

Fukugo University listed branding as a strategy in the new internationalization

strategy. The following statement includes the key objective of their branding strategy.

Our brand strategy includes a number of policies such as placing emphasis on certain fields like peace research and education, and refining brand power visible in education results such as cultivating [Fukugo University] student talent. However, as far as brand strategy with particular regard to creating a world-class research university is concerned, it is crucial to increase brand power by selecting research and education fields which receive high international ranking and concentrating investment into these fields (Internationalization Strategy, 2005, p. 8) Fukugo University’s key objective of branding is to increase the international

presence of the university to develop a unique world-class research university with a

policy that prioritizes selected, internationally competitive fields of research and

education. The action plan of the branding strategy refers to not only the recruitment of

talented researchers and students and support to foster distinctive research, but also the

development of curriculum to train students with international talent and ability

considering the students themselves will eventually represent the brand power of the

university.

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Although the branding strategy refers to various issues of internationalization, it is

largely focused on the issue of research. As mentioned above, the university has made

efforts to develop the institutional system to identify and advance leading research areas

and distinctive research projects with high potential to increase the international

competitiveness of research. It is considered to be a strategy that will propel the

university into a global market (Internationalization Strategy, 2005, p. 6).

Fukugo University has also made an effort to promote international public

relations. The essential university public relation materials, including the website and

university catalogs, are produced both in Japanese and English. Their website also

provides some information in Chinese although the information is limited to very basic

university information.

Another effort as a part of international public relations is the development of an

institutional repository that is an online library of intellectual materials produced by

scholarly activities. Fukugo University opened its repository in 2006. The primary

purpose of an institutional repository is to share knowledge products both domestically

and internationally. However, on the website, Fukugo University states that it could

increase the brand power of the university and also function as a mode for scholars to

disseminate their research findings to the world.

In summary, to achieve the goal of becoming a unique, world-class university,

internationally disseminating information about the university has become more

important. Fukugo University even set up the branding strategy in the 2005

internationalization strategy. The initiatives include not only improvement of

international public relations, but the establishment of an institutional system to indentify

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and present the internationally competitive or potentially competitive research projects.

The branding strategy is directly linked to increasing the university’s international

reputation and standing.


terms of two main functions of the university: research and education and an emerging

theme of branding. In the following sections, we discuss how to implement these

initiatives, and how the administrative system has changed.

Change in the Administrative System

The centers of actual international academic activities are colleges and

departments where students and faculty members reside. The key issue discussed in this

section is how the central university administrative system could assist students, faculty

members and departments in promoting their international academic activities. In the

previous section, I examined recently implemented internationalization initiatives in

Fukugo University. In this section, I examine how the administrate system has changed in

order to support these internationalization initiatives.

Development of a university-wide system to plan and promote international

activities began in 2002 with the establishment of a working group to develop the

institutional internalization strategy under the direct instruction of the president. The

working group was eventually structured as the International Strategy Headquarters (ISH)

in 2005 as a university-wide strategic planning function for internationalization. While

the strategic function was developed, administrative support units for international

exchanges also evolved and expanded their functions. In 2004, the International Affairs

Department was also newly established as an administrative bureau office by unifying the

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Student Exchange Division under the Education and Student Affairs Department and the

Academic Exchange Division under the General Affairs Department. The International

Affairs Department consisted of the International Planning and Cooperation Group and

the International Student Exchange Group. The original function of these administrative

support units for internationalization was the operations function. Later, the task force

function was added to these administrative support units. The new organizational

structure for internationalization is presented in Figure 13. In the following section,

change in the administrative system of internationalization is further discussed focusing

on the changes in structure, management, and participants.

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Figure 13. Organizational Structure for Internationalization at Fukugo University in August 2008


The Council of International Exchange traditionally existed as the dominant

coalition for internationalization. This council consisted of faculty members representing

International Exchange Program Committees (Working Groups)

Task Force Function • Short-term Student

Exchange • Venture Operation of the

International University Consortium

• Double Degree Program

International Industry-Academic Collaboration Division at Collaborative

Level 1: Central Administration

President

International Student Center

Executive Vice President (Research)

International Strategy Headquarters Strategic Planning Function

Overseas Office in China

Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education

Level 2: University-wide Specialized Units

Academic Office

Project Coordinators

(International Affair Bureau)

International Planning and

Cooperation Group

International Student

Exchange Group

International Task Force Function International Operations Function

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each college. In 2002, a working group was established to develop an institutional

internationalization strategy. In 2005, by obtaining government competitive funds, the

International Strategy Headquarters (ISH) was established as the institutional-wide

system to develop the specific institutional direction and plans for internationalization

under the direct leadership of the president, so the Council of International Exchange was

dissolved.

ISH is not an office, but a committee to fulfill the strategic planning function. The

new dominant coalition of ISH consisted of the group of senior administrators and faculty

members who were appointed by the president according to their expertise in

international activities. In 2008, the members of ISH included eight senior leaders and six

faculty members (Table 25). There was no administrative support staff listed as members

of ISH; however, managers and coordinators of the International Planning and

Cooperation Group and the International Student Exchange Group attended the meetings

and provided support.

Two senior leaders were appointed to the area of internationalization. As the head

of the ISH, the Executive Vice President for Research was in charge of the overall

institutional internationalization. Many interviewees mentioned that this executive vice

president is a leading figure for internationalization because he has been promoting the

process of internationalization by taking on various roles including being the former

Director of the International Student Center, making efforts to develop a graduate school

and research center of international development cooperation, and establishing ISH. He

also became the first faculty member to be the head of an administrative support unit

when the International Affairs Office was established. In contrast, traditionally,

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management positions in administrative support units have been administrative support

staff.

Table 25. Members of the International Strategy Headquarters (ISH) in August 2008 Position

Profile

Senior leaders

• Executive Vice President for Research (Chair) • Executive Vice President for Education • 6 Vice Presidents: International Affairs, Education Support, Academic

Support, External Funding, Financial Planning, and Facilities Planning Faculty

• Professor/Dean, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences • Professor, the Graduate School for International Development and

Cooperation • Professor/Director, the Center for the Study of International

Cooperation in Education • Professor/Director, the Research Institute for Higher Education • Professor/Director, the Collaborative Research Center (Academic and

industry collaboration) • Professor/Director, the International Student Center

Admin. Support Staff

• Managers and coordinators at the International Planning and

Cooperation Group and the International Student Exchange Group under the Academic Office participated as support staff, but they were not listed as the members of the Headquarters.

The current Vice President for International Affairs has also been involved in

internationalization. He was a special assistant for the former President on Japan-China

Relations, and he has been the Director of the Beijing Research Center since its

foundation in 2002. The remaining senior leader members of ISH are in charge of issues

related to education, research, infrastructure, and finance.

The selected six faculty members are from colleges or academic centers that have

been actively promoting international activities: the Graduate School of Biomedical

Sciences, the Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, the

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International Student Center, the Research Institute for Higher Education, the

Collaborative Research Center (Academic and industry collaboration), and the Center for

the Study of International Cooperation in Education. These graduate schools and centers

also represent distinctive characteristics of Fukugo University: education, peace, and

international development cooperation. Five of the six faculty members were either deans

of a college or directors of an academic center.

Membership of the dominant coalitions for internationalization shifted from a

college representative model to a top-down and expert-oriented model by replacing the

Council of International Exchange with ISH. A senior leader noted that ISH is the

strategic decision-making system with increased senior leadership compared with the

former Council which lacked decision-making power due to its college representative

membership:

…The difference between the Council of International Exchange and the International Strategy Headquarters is that the International Strategy Headquarters is a political and strategic decision-making system. We need other people implementing the strategic plan….Regarding the Council of International Exchange at universities in Japan, it consists of representatives that each college sends for a two-year term. Once the faculty members finish their term, another faculty representative from the college becomes a member of the council. That is to say, the council didn’t consist of individuals, but consisted of colleges. The council has existed all the way. In the end, it was becoming a mere name like reporting the number of newly enrolled [international] students. It rarely has a strategic function, and there is no capacity to take action promptly. Then, there is no one to resolve different interests among colleges since the chair of the council is just one of the regular faculty members (21-50-51).

In summary, the institutional decision-making process regarding

internationalization became more top-down and strategic. The dominant coalition for

internationalization planning was formed under the Executive Vice President for

Research, and senior leaders account for almost 60% of the coalition members. The

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membership reflected distinctive characteristics of the university’s identity since the

faculty members are the leaders of the colleges and academic centers related to education,

peace, and international development corporation. These are the colleges and academic

centers that actively promote international activities.

Structure for Managing International Activities at the Central Administration Level

In the former section, the strategic planning function on internationalization was

discussed. In this section, I examine the task force function and operations function at the

university-wide central administration level in order to understand the structure for

coordinating the implementation of internationalization activities.

Fukugo University has two types of administrative systems: the task force

function and operations function. The first type involves ad hoc working groups that

implement specific initiatives on internationalization or examine specific issues on

internationalization under the direct leadership of the Executive Vice President for

Research (21-50-51). The ad hoc working groups fulfill the task force function. In May

2008, three working groups existed with agendas of short-term student exchanges,

operation of an international university consortium, and double degree programs. The

members of the working groups were faculty members with expertise or experience in

international activities along with staff members from administrative support units for

international exchange. Although it depends on the type of project the working groups

discuss and implement, the faculty members are not generally regarded as college

representatives but are asked to cooperate with university-wide internationalization

initiatives as individual university members according to their expertise in international

activities (21-51, 29-19 & 216-6).

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While these working groups are formed and dissolved when internationalization

projects emerge or are completed, Fukugo University has a second type of administrative

system including three main university-wide units that support, plan, and coordinate the

implementation of internationalization: the International Planning and Cooperation

Group, the International Student Exchange Group, and the International Student Center.

The International Planning and Cooperation Group and the International Student

Exchange Group are administrative support units that help fulfill both the task force

function and operations function to promote internationalization. They are located in the

Administration Bureau Building where senior administrators’ offices are located. The

building is located in the center of the main campus. The two international administrative

support units were originally separate units under different administrative bureaus: the

Student Exchange Division under the Education and Student Affairs Department and the

Academic Exchange Division under the General Affairs Department. The role of these

administrative support units was only an operations function. However, in 2004, they

were unified under a newly established bureau of the International Affairs Department

under the direct leadership of the senior administration having the Vice President for

International Affairs as the head of the department. This configuration is particularly

unique since at national universities in Japan, it is unusual for faculty members to take a

managerial position of an administrative support bureau.

The development of the International Affairs Department under the direct

leadership of the senior administration increased the presence of international service as a

category of administrative support services and increased recognition of international

expertise in the department. Furthermore, it expanded its function by establishing a

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section that specialized in international planning under the International Planning and

Cooperation Group, which fulfills the task force function. Fukugo University hired three

international coordinators to carry out the task force function with part of the funds going

to establish the International Strategy Headquarters (ISH). Besides these three

coordinators, two additional staff members were allocated to the section: One staff

member is the first foreign administrative support staff member at Fukugo University,

and the other staff is an extant staff member who took a newly created position to fulfill

the task force function.

Under the leadership of the Vice President for International Affairs, the university

organized all three functions including strategic planning, task force, and operations

functions to promote internationalization. The international administrative support units

were more functionally expanded and specialized by adding the task force function. A

key factor for the development of the empowered administrative support unit,

specializing in international exchange and education, was the establishment of continuous

senior faculty leadership in the administrative support service unit. One staff member

described the benefit of a faculty member as the head of the International Affairs

Department:

Leadership is important….It is not easy to show such leadership with only staff members. In that sense, it was good that a faculty member became the head [of the International Affairs Department]. Even though staff members [at the department] want to do something, the top staff members [at the office] will be transferred [to other universities] because they are from MEXT. Both a head of a division and a head of a department will be transferred [to other universities], but [a professor] will not be transferred. Since he has been at Fukugo University for a long time, we can always discuss [with him] when we wonder what is happening [on certain issues or initiatives.] If the head moves to another university, even though we wonder what is happening on the issue, [we have to say] “Ah, it was over”…(22-108).

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This staff member highlighted the fact that the current rotation system of managerial

positions among national universities has an impact on their leadership when it comes to

promoting internationalization. In general, the managerial positions of the central

administrative support units are held by staff members from MEXT. They are rotated

among national universities every two to three years. Having a faculty member in the top

managerial position of the International Affairs Department provided continuous

leadership in the administrative support units for international exchange. It is also

important to mention that when ISH was established in 2005, the Vice President became

the Director of ISH. Later, he became the Executive Vice President for Research who is

in charge of internationalization. Thus, continuous strong leadership existed at Fukugo

University which has strategically helped them maintain an international focus and

promoted international initiatives.

Another important unit for the task force function is the International Student

Center. It has played a key role in promoting international student exchanges and campus

internationalization since its foundation in 1990. The International Student Center is a

university-wide education and research facility consisting of the Japanese Language

Section, Advising Section, and Education Exchange Program Section. This center

provides educational programs and conducts research in areas related to Japanese

language acquisition and international student exchange and education. The center has

seven faculty members for the Japanese Language Section, one faculty member for the

Advising Section, two faculty members for the Education Exchange Program Section,

and one administrative support staff member.

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Because of the significant change, there was some insightful discussion about

establishing the International Center by merging international administrative support

units and the International Student Center. A senior leader stated:

It is evolving. The more we promote internationalization, the less inept the system becomes. Therefore, we need to improve the system constantly. You would understand if you asked about restructuring the International Affairs Department. We are also considering restructuring the International Student Center (21-49).

A staff member further explained the current discourse on International Center

development. The International Center’s goal is to be structured into a new organization

model with one working body unifying two separate organizations of faculty and staff.

The interviewee pointed out that the extant dual organization structure—faculty

organization and staff organization—has limitations for responding to the different

emerging types of work to promote further international activities. They cannot be easily

categorized into teaching and research or regular administrative business.

The International Student Center is going to change including the International Affairs Department. We don’t know how it will be restructured since we are discussing it right now. Until now, the universities, especially national universities, consisted of completely separate systems, a faculty system and a staff system; however, we are trying to establish an organization in which faculty and staff members are unified. Faculty and staff members work together under one organization. Particularly regarding international relations, we are moving in the direction of transforming the organization to such a system. Under the current system, a faculty member’s duty is education and research while staff members deal with administrative business and support, but the type of work somewhere between a faculty job and staff job is increasing. It is difficult for the current dual system to respond. For example, corresponding with foreign countries is not regular administrative business, but it requires expertise. Such kind of special content in work is increasing. It would be good to have an organization that runs business well, utilizing faculty member’s expertise. Our issue, well the issue of any [national] university, is that we don’t have staff who are somewhere between faculty and administrative support staff. We are considering an organization model in which faculty and staff work as one body instead of the model in which there is a faculty organization, and a staff organization that exist to support the faulty organization (217-63).

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In summary, the structure for supporting and coordinating the implementation of

internationalization activities at the university-wide administration level has been unified

under senior leadership since 2004 when the national universities were corporatized. The

administrative support system at the central level expanded its function to fulfill both the

operations and task force functions as well as increased the recognition of a specialized

unit.

The development of a unified empowered administrative support system with recognized

expertise in international exchange and education was supported by the continuous senior

leadership. For the first time, a faculty member in a senior leadership position held the

top managerial position of an administrative support department where administrative

support staff members were historically placed.

Furthermore, adopting ad hoc committees under the leadership of the Executive

Vice President for Research increased the task force function. The committees consisted

of not only faculty and staff members from the international administrative support units

but also faculty members from academic departments. Furthermore, there is cautionary

discussion about the development of a unified organization for internationalization

crossing the boundaries between faculty-oriented units and administrative support staff-

oriented units.


In this section, the coordination between the central administrative system and

colleges regarding internationalization are examined at two levels: at the policy-making

level and at the implementation level. At the policy-making level, the dominant coalition

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format shifted from a college representative model to a top-down and expert-oriented

model in the newly established International Strategy Headquarters (ISH). A senior

leader in charge of internationalization explained the new system to reflect each college’s

opinion about the institutional strategy:

You just saw people visiting my office while you were waiting. They were representatives from each college. We ask them to come here. We listen to their issues and requests, and then, we decide how we should solve the issues strategically and what we should invest [as a university]. We make a proposal to the [International] Strategy Headquarters. Well, various people also make suggestions….Well, this time, we made a schedule. Since April [2008], we have been having a 30-minute meeting with the representative from each college…(2x-59-60).

The senior leader in charge of internationalization collected issues and requests from each

college, and based on the collected data, he and his staff, (e.g., international coordinators)

developed a proposal regarding matters of internationalization, which was then submitted

to the ISH for a final decision on an internationalization plan.

Another coordination issue involved any formal communication network issues

among units or positions specializing in international student exchange programs at the

central and college levels. At the central level, two international affairs units and the

International Student Center are currently the core organizations that coordinate

internationalization activities. At the college level, there is generally an administrative

support staff member appointed to deal with matters regarding international student

exchange. Some colleges have a faculty member appointed as an international student

advisor, but there is no formal meeting or communication network among them.

Communication among them is limited to essential matters of routine business. A staff

member stated:

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Right now, there is nothing. No gathering, no training, no information exchange meetings [among staff members in charge of international exchange]. There is nothing….[Staff members in charge of international exchange at colleges] will come when they need to do business such as submission of university-wide documents and institutional research information or when they need the president’s signature. It is not like we don’t know who they are. We know them and we work in cooperation with them. We have a list of contact information, so we can recognize their faces with their names, but we don’t have regular meetings or training. Of course, there is no hierarchy in work (213-53-54).

In summary, coordination regarding internationalization between the central

administrative system and colleges was examined at two levels. At the policy-making

level, the senior leader in charge of internationalization has taken the lead with a group of

faculty experts in international exchange based on input from colleges. By scheduling an

individual meeting between the senior leader and representatives from each college, a

formal communication route was established. At the implementation level, however, the

coordination is currently at the minimum level of routine business.


At Fukugo University, a group of senior leaders and faculty has historically

promoted internationalization. In particular, many interviewees named the current

Executive Vice President for Research as the driving force for internationalization. One

interviewee noted that, “Internationalization has been recognized for a long time [at

Fukugo University]. It will be our interest at least while Professor X [the current

Executive Vice President for Research] is here” (211-45).

Although a group of senior leaders and faculty has historically promoted

internationalization, the level of involvement of senior leaders has increased and the

approach toward internationalization has become more top-down after corporatization.

As described above, the system of decision-making and implementation of the initiatives

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were reorganized under senior leadership. A senior leader also clearly stated,

“[Internationalization planning] is strategic rather than bottom-up. Therefore, what comes

first is what we need, what we have to do, what we aim to do as a university” (21-58).

Besides strengthened leadership of the senior administration, new types of actors

in managing the implementation of internationalization initiatives have emerged as the

amount and diversity in international activities has increased. First, three coordinator

positions were established for the International Planning and Cooperation Group. They

were hired for a limited term (2-3 years) contract with external funds from the

government internationalization initiatives. These newly created positions serve to fulfill

the task force function. These individuals have master’s degrees and were hired based on

their international qualifications including English language fluency, international

working experience, and planning skills.

Several staff interviewees commented on the change in work in the administrative

support units for international exchange. In the past, the duty of staff members in the

international units was behind-the-scene administrative support; however, the emergence

of the new types of international activities, which is institution-oriented instead of the

traditional individual scholar-based activities, requires staff with specialized skills to plan

and coordinate in the international context. A staff member admitted that the current

human resource system has not developed the type of human resource personnel who can

respond to the emerging needs of implementing these new types of international

activities:

The content of work is shifting from support behind the scenes to negotiation at the front; however, we don’t have staff members who can deal with the change. We rarely have them. I believe that every university is facing the same issue. It is

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a big issue. It is especially an issue at national universities since their staff members are people who took an exam to become a civil servant. It is a big issue. That’s why we hired coordinators from outside…It is difficult because staff members within university are not nurtured as specialists in international affairs. It is because staff members are rotated every three years. Moreover, staff members are not hired based on an exam that specializes in international affairs, but they are hired to do the university’s office work in general. It takes time to nurture staff members who can deal with international affairs under such conditions (217-37-38).

Although international affairs professionals were not fostered internally yet,

Fukugo University has been providing staff development opportunities related to

international skills such as long-term government and non-government staff development

opportunities, two institutional short-term training abroad programs in collaboration with

partner foreign universities, and English language training on campus. One senior staff

member stated that there has been an effort to allocate the staff members who have

developed international skills more intentionally to the units and positions related to

international affairs.

Individuals with [international] expertise gathered in the International Affairs Department. We gathered members who can deal with international affairs as representatives of Fukugo University. We have made efforts to recruit staff members in different departments and nurture them. We have to keep making efforts from now on. We made efforts and always believe that those efforts are essential. We believe that everyone needs international skills; therefore, English language training continues to be provided although we don’t know whether they find any use for training in their job. We would like to allocate staff members who have an interest in offices and positions like the International Affairs Department (23-36-37).

Another staff member also observed that potential staff members with

international skills are emerging, and awareness of the needs of these individuals is also

increasing even though staff members are still rotated among different departments every

three years to learn overall university administrative functions:

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Right now, the main trend, unfortunately, hasn’t changed yet. Although the policy, itself, hasn’t changed, individual awareness about the need for experts in international exchange activities is gradually rising, but the policy stays the same way…every year, one or two staff members have been sent to long-term training abroad. As the number of the staff members who come back from the training increases, I assume that those individuals will build working experience in different offices and become staff members in charge of international affairs (217-42).

Although this staff member did not see changes in the system, one senior leader

noted that a new type of career path had been established.

…..The era when staff members with expertise play an active role has come. The new career path is gradually being established. In the past, the only way to be promoted was by moving to a different department every two years since they were civil servants…but now they are employees in the private sectors16...we [the national university corporations] can make such a career path finally. Then, a few staff members who want to choose a career with expertise began appearing. We didn’t make a career path first, but such staff members were fostered. Then, we realized that it is best to let these individuals work in a specialized position. Then, we decided that we should create a new career path, and we asked the Department of Human Resources to create such a career path (21-82-85).

Although there is confusion about a new career path that allows staff members to

work as experts between the senior leaders and staff members, the institutional direction

to foster staff members with international expertise has been growing at Fukugo

University. Another important factor in this change is led by the incremental attitude

changes towards the international affairs profession among staff members. Another

faculty member also recognized this changing mindset among staff members:

About internationalization, because the university trades on internationalization, as a fact, staff members who want to have professional training [on international exchange] in the U.S. appeared. I am sure that their mindset is changing (212-78).

16 National universities were corporatized in 2004.

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Although staff members’ expertise in the international affairs units improved by

hiring international coordinators and allocating staff members with international skills,

the units lost two full-fledged staff members within two years. Due to corporatization, the

university is facing cutbacks in funding for personnel. The loss of these positions was

covered by contract workers who were hired based on their English language skills and

international experience. The first international staff member was also hired recently.

Another key participant is faculty in ad hoc working groups on

internationalization issues. These faculty members are asked to contribute their expertise

in international exchange activities to institutional internationalization initiatives. Their

participation is counted as an individual contribution rather than promoting the college’s

interest, which means that they take on an additional role at the university level besides

regular duties such as teaching, research and administration at the college level. As the

institutional-level internationalization initiatives increased, the role of those faculty

members increased. One faculty member expressed concern about time constraints due to

his involvement in an institutional level initiative. He continued to explain the need for an

institutional approach to increase faculty involvement in institutional-level

internationalization initiatives instead of relying on individual faculty members’

motivation:

As mentioned before, there is a legitimate theoretical rationale for why we need to promote internationalization at the university level or college level, so there should be various plans based on the theoretical institutional rationale; however, talking about who is going to implement the plans, they will be faculty members. The university is not a system in which the senior executive management dictates what faculty should do. It is possible to tell staff members about what to do…For example, to implement a double degree program, you cannot deal with the educational content without faculty members. However, when talking about [institution-initiated] internationalization, faculty members don’t do what the

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university says they should do. Then, how should the university encourage faculty members to be involved in internationalization? As mentioned before, faculty members who have an interest in internationalization of the university take action due to their own motivation. In terms of other faculty members, the university needs some intervention...If the university really wants to continue to promote internationalization, (although right now, it is somehow managing by relying on faculty members who have a motivation for internationalization), if the number of students participating in international exchange initiatives is continuously increasing, things are not going well without some kind of sustained approach. It is because motivation or a sense of obligation is almost [always] swayed by chance…To promote internationalization, it should not depend only on faculty members’ motivation. Without some kind of institutional approach, internationalization cannot be continuously promoted (216-26).

He claimed that there are a limited number of faculty members who are motivated to

promote internationalization not for their own professional interest but for the

university’s good. To keep promoting internationalization, the university needs a more

systemic approach to increase faculty involvement in institutional-level

internationalization initiatives.

In summary, new actors have emerged at different function levels to promote

internationalization as the amount and complexity of international activities have

increased. First, the senior leadership in internationalization increased even though

Fukugo University has historically had a group of senior leaders and faculty that

supported internationalization. Currently, more senior leaders are members of the

strategic planning units, and all functions that promote internationalization are under the

leadership of the executive vice president in charge of internationalization. Another

important aspect of leadership in internationalization at Fukugo University is that they

were able to identify a person who could provide continuous and significant leadership.

The interview data revealed a prominent recognition of the current executive vice

president as a driving force for internationalization.

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Another significant finding is that international coordinator positions were

established due to the emergence of international activities based on institutional

initiatives instead of individual scholarly initiatives. However, a significant issue

remained in that these university-wide international activities required further

contributions above and beyond the regular duties from faculty members as individual

university members not as representatives of a college. Another challenge is that even at

the operations function level, the need for international skills, especially English

language skills became salient. While the university made efforts to provide staff training

with English language and training abroad opportunities, contract or temporary workers

with English language skills are being hired to support international routine business.

Finally, a few personnel system issues were raised. The issues include the need to

establish a new career path as specialists and the need for a systemic approach to increase

faculty members’ participation in institutional internationalization initiatives.

Fukugo University’s Process of Internationalization

The process of internationalization at Fukugo University has been historically

supported by a group of senior leaders and faculty members. The Executive Vice

President for Research, who is in charge of internationalization, was recognized as the

last leader from this original group. Fukugo University has always been proactive in

responding to the government policies related to internationalization. In the 1990s,

Fukugo University established one of the first graduate schools and one of the first

research centers in the field of international development cooperation as well as one of

the first international student centers at national universities in Japan. Those international

units became a driving force for internationalization at Fukugo University. It also

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developed an institutional strategic plan for internationalization in 2003 before the

government’s initiative in 2005.

Due to the historical institutional engagements in internationalization as well as

being located in the International City of Peace, internationality has grown as a symbolic

culture of Fukugo University. Furthermore, internationalization has been recognized for

its instrumental significance due to corporatization of national universities. Fukugo

University set up the goal to become a unique world-class university, so

internationalization was adopted as a strategy to develop its institutional competitiveness.

Although Fukugo University always has had senior leadership who has promoted

internationalization, the leadership has become more institutionalized in accordance with

corporatization. New roles with the responsibility of international affairs were established

at the senior administration including the International Strategy Headquarters which is

largely made up of senior leaders and selected faculty members from internationally

oriented academic units or academic units of the prominent fields of the university.

Administrative support units for international exchange were also established under direct

supervision of the executive vice president in charge of internationalization.

Besides continuous senior leadership, the significance of the internationalization

process at Fukugo University has been an effort to professionalize the administrative

support units for international exchange. These units became a legitimate service office in

the administrative bureau structure at the central level, in part because they are located in

the central administrative building at the heart of the campus. The emerging

professionalization of the units was evident among the great majority of interviewees.

Another key factor is that Fukugo University not only hired individuals with international

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skills, but also has been making efforts to develop a new career path for administrative

professionals in international affairs. Besides implementation of staff development

initiatives, a senior leader and some middle-level management leaders have made an

effort to get buy-ins from and engage staff members in internationalization activities.

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CHAPTER VI: INTERNATIONALIZATION MOVEMENT AT TANKA

UNIVERSITY


In the latter part of the 19th century, Tanka University was founded as a private

business training school, and then became a College of Commerce under the jurisdiction

of the Ministry of Education. Today, Tanka University is known as the pioneer of

commercial education in Japan. In 1949, it was reorganized into a national university

under the New School Education Law. In 2004, it was incorporated in accordance with

the National University Corporation Law.

Tanka University is a prestigious research-oriented university specializing in the

social sciences with four undergraduate schools, six graduate schools and one

professional graduate school. According to the university’s motto, nurturing industry

leaders with its liberal academic traditions, it emphasizes practical learning. The

university has been producing leaders who are taking an active role in the fields of

industry and finance nationally and internationally. The university also attaches

importance to a seminar-style curriculum in undergraduate education not only to assist

students in producing a high standard of study, but also to cultivate individuals as a whole

through close communication among a group of colleagues and a designated faculty

member. In their junior year, students choose a research topic and participate in a seminar

in which they study with a dozen colleagues under a designated faculty member for two

years. Student club activities are also featured at the university.

Tanka University’s main campus houses the majority of the university’s

functions. The two other campuses include one campus that mainly consists of residential

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property such as student dormitories while the other campus houses a graduate school

with an international theme. All three campuses are located in a major metropolitan area,

but the main campus is located 30 minutes to one hour by train from the other two

campuses. The main campus is within walking distance from a main train line station and

is surrounded by a variety of social activities such as restaurants, coffee shops, and

bookstore.

The total student population is about 6,500 with graduate students accounting for

30%. Twelve percent of the undergraduate students go on to graduate school. Fifty-two

percent of the freshmen are from the local region.

The two main missions of the university are research that contributes to the

development of free and peaceful societies in Japan and the world, and education to

nurture leaders (University Mission, March 28, 2008, website). The university values its

role as a leading research-oriented university both in the domestic and international

contexts. The university also has eight basic policies to accomplish its missions. Of

interest to this study is the last basic policy which refers to the establishment of

international partnerships.


The international dimension is an expected requirement of education and research

at Tanka University as a leading research-oriented university in Japan. International

academic exchanges are active, and various international symposia and seminars are held

on campus throughout the year. Three out of the four research centers mention in their

websites that they aim to serve as a hub for collaborative research between domestic and

international communities of researchers. The Economic Research Institute is especially

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noteworthy because it has been promoting international collaborative research since

1940. Another significant research center for further promotion of international academic

collaboration is the International Joint Research Center that was newly established in

2002. This center aims to promote international joint research projects focusing on Asian

studies in social and human sciences from a global perspective. Besides the four research

centers, in 2004, an academic center for studies and research in the European Union in

Japan was established by the European Commission. The main office is located in Tanka

University. This International Joint Research Center is managed by four consortium

Japanese universities including Tanka University. It provides various educational and

research opportunities with respect to the European Union, including joint research,

seminars, internship programs, summer programs, and special courses.

Another recent development at Tanka University is that it established two

international theme graduate schools: a graduate school in business administration in

2000, and a graduate school in international public policy in 2005. These graduate

schools have programs adopting English as the language of instruction and an October

admission instead of the standard April admission.

Establishing the International Student Center was another landmark for

internationalization at Tanka University. It was established in the mid-1990s as a

university-wide education and research institute for academic and social services for

international students and the internationalization of the campus. In 2003, it moved to the

newly erected International Research Building where it now provides international

students with Japanese language programs, advising, and counseling services. Its support

services for international students are quite extensive from academic tutorial services to

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creating a strong rapport with the local community through a host family program. It also

provides domestic students with advising and assistance for study abroad opportunities.

In 2005, they began coordinating short-term study abroad programs in addition to

traditional one-year exchange programs. Besides service for international student

exchange programs, the center promotes campus internationalization by offering both

formal and extra-curricular activities and courses on international and intercultural

education. The center also publishes an annual institutional journal on student

international and intercultural experience.

As a part of campus internationalization, in 2002, the university established an

international student dormitory where domestic and international students live together in

addition to the existing international house accommodating international students and

scholars. The international student dormitory is designed for intercultural learning

opportunities with leadership and community building initiatives. A faculty member from

the International Student Center supports these intercultural activities.

In 2005, the university established an office to plan and promote

internationalization as an institutional agenda. With the acquisition of competitive

government funding, the International Strategy Headquarters (ISH) was established under

direct leadership of the university president. In 2004, an overseas office was also founded

in China to promote international exchange activities for research, education, and

academic-industry collaboration.

The trends of international exchanges are presented in Tables 26-31. In terms of

international exchange agreements, the oldest international exchange agreement was

made in 1981. Since then, the number of agreements has increased steadily. By May

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2008, the number of international exchange agreements was 51 at the university level

(Table 26) and 32 at the college level (Table 27).


Oldest

agreement

1988

1998

2008

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

1981

9

5

40

20

51

25


Oldest agreement

1988

1998

2008

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

# of agreements

# of countries

1986 in Comm. &

Management

3

2

13

8

32

14

The number of international visiting scholars decreased 13% between 2003 and

2004, but in 2005, it increased by 9%. Since then, the number has been stable, and in

2007, there were 450 visiting scholars (Table 28). In other words, the university had 1.09

visiting scholars per faculty member. The number of faculty members studying overseas

also increased 24% in the past five years (Table 29), so by 2007, 632 faculty members

studied abroad. In other words, each faculty member studied overseas 1.54 times. Finally,

there were 1917 international faculty members accounting for 4.6% of the total faculty

population in 2008 (Table 30).

17 The number of international faculty members referred to 2009 Daigaku Ranking published by Asahi News Publisher. The number included professors, associate professors and lecturers. It did not include assistant professors (jyokyo) and research associates (jyoshu).

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2003

2004

2005

2006

2007


486 1.05

422 1.00

460 1.04

464 1.09

450 1.09

Table 29. Trend of Faculty Studying Abroad Year

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

# of faculty studying abroad # per academic staff

511 1.11

524 1.25

502 1.14

624 1.46

632 1.54


2008

# of total faculty

412

# of international faculty

19

% of international faculty to total

4.6%

Notes: The total number of faculty members at Tanka University from the 2010 Daigaku Ranking is published by Asahi News Publisher. The number included professors, associate professors and lecturers. It did not include assistant professors (jyokyo) and research associates (jyoshu).

The trends of the international student population are presented in Table 31.

International student numbers remained relatively stable between 2003 and 2006 making

up 8% of the total student population, but in 2008, the number increased by 9%, with

international students representing 61 countries. Tanka University has a large

international graduate population, which accounts for about 61% of the total international

student population and 17% of the total graduate population. In contrast, at the

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undergraduate level, international students account for only 3% of the total undergraduate

population. In terms of students studying abroad, 1.4% of students participated in 2008.


2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

# of international students % of international students to total students # of countries of origin

537 8%

42+*

524 8% 43

522 8% 52

517 8% 51

537 8% 55

585 9% 61

*There is a category of other.

Finally, Tanka University has a well-established alumni association that has

helped promote international exchange activities at the university. According to the

university’s motto to nurture industry leaders, their alumni have played a leadership role

in the fields of industry and finance for the development of the Japanese economy. To

help the university foster future leaders with an international outlook, the alumni

association has a long history of supporting study abroad opportunities by providing their

students with scholarships since the late 1980s. To date, the alumni association has

supported 700 students to study abroad.

Objectives and Rationale of Internationalization

Attempts to develop an institutional plan for internationalization go back to 1993.

Tanka University developed their international student exchange objectives during

MEXT‘s initial stage of increasing the number of international students studying in Japan

to 100,000. The Council of International Student Exchange at Tanka University proposed

student educational exchange objectives. However, one faculty member noted that the

earlier attempt at an internationalization strategy focusing on international student

exchange was not institutionalized as a university-wide agenda. Instead, the identified

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objectives were achieved due to incremental efforts made by individual faculty and staff

members working to increase international student exchange. He stated:

…Probably in 1990 [1993], under the senior leader of Education and Student Affairs, who was the chair of the Council of International Student Exchange, we wrote the international student exchange vision until 2000. Probably it was about 10 pages. We wrote [objectives] like increase international students to 400, increase the [international] proportion of graduates and undergraduates, and establish an administrative support system for international exchange. We made various suggestions, but institutional initiatives were not made based on the proposal. The matter of international student exchange is perceived as an issue for Dejima18 [referring to the specialized units for international student exchange]. The suggestions beyond Dejima were not accepted, but the suggestions within the size of the budget of Dejima were accepted. As a result, the goal of 400 international students was achieved before 2000, but we didn’t have any vision after achieving this goal. So, I would say that we had a vision early since the vision was stated in 1990 [1993]. But, it was not like either a university-wide vision or something everyone knows. Neither the president nor senior leaders promoted internationalization based on the developed plan...” (33-15).

His statement emphasizes the fact that international student exchange was regarded

largely as a matter for specialized units rather than being a university-wide agenda. He

used the Japanese term Dejima to describe the specialized units for international student

exchange.

After this attempt to plan internationalization as an institutional agenda, there was

no initiative until 2005. With the establishment of the International Strategy Headquarters

(ISH), the internationalization strategy was developed as a university-wide vision,

guideline, and action plan to promote internationalization in the next five years.

International exchange was also listed as a part of the agenda in the 2004-2010

institutional mid-term plans and objectives. Furthermore, a senior leader mentioned that

18 Dejima is a small island that is the only place for international trade during Japan’s period of isolation.

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the international dimension was discussed as an agenda item for the future institutional

strategic plan on research at Tanka University, which was submitted to the president in

March 2008 (31-12). He described:

The Research Council and the Research Working Group discussed how our university will tackle internationalization in a big institutional picture. We discussed internationalization as a part of our agenda by having the Director of ISH [as a member of the working group]. That is our approach to internationalization. The research strategy, itself, deals with what we should do to be a globally standing and recognized university as globalization is advancing in the 21st century. Therefore, development of a strategy is the central duty of the Research Council and the Research Working Group. So, the functions of [strategic planning] of our groups and the International Strategic Headquarters overlap. I would say that the task of the International Strategy Headquarters is [performing] concrete actions within a certain time period while the main task of the Research Council and the Research Working Group is long-term planning on how we can survive in the 21st Century (31-10).

These changes in institutional strategic planning toward internationalization shows that

internationalization has now become an institutional agenda rather than additional

activities in the specialized units after corporatization of national universities.

Reflecting its history and mission, Tanka University aims to become a world-class

center of education and research, specifically in social sciences, which enriches Japan,

Asia, and the global communities in the 21st Century. The internationalization strategy

was developed as an action plan to achieve this goal. Establishing global-scale

information and personal networks was identified as the main objective in the

internationalization strategy. Moreover, it was suggested that the concept of international

exchange should be replaced by international mobility to establish further international

networks.

In order to realize these long-term objectives and execute missions, [Tanka] University needs to fully unitize its intellectual resources to establish global-scale informational and personal networks. For setting up these networks, it is essential

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to make specific action plans, which must be demonstrated through activities. This is the duty of a university as an “Intellectual Power House” that enriches global community….Within the areas of education, research, and contributions to society reside the concepts of cross-cultural interface, international understanding, and international cooperation. [Tanka] University needs to emphasize the “mobility” aspect of these concepts rather than the “exchange” aspect to create an infrastructure for a broader more highly-focused intellectual dynamism…(Internationalization Strategies, March 28, 2008, website).

To establish global-scale information and personal networks based on the concept

of international mobility, Tanka University aims to internationalize governance, research

and education by establishing a central administrative unit to direct and coordinate

internationalization initiatives. In the internationalization strategy, they stated that they

must develop a world-class research environment and global networks to enhance

international mobility of researchers and to recruit excellent researchers internationally

and develop curriculum and programs to nurture individuals as active participants in a

global society.

At Tanka University, there is an unwritten slogan referring to the ultimate goal of

becoming a world-class center of education and research. The former president declared

that the university aims to become a top-class university in Asia and the only one of its

kind in the world. Although opinions about this declaration varied among the

interviewees, they had a shared understanding that it had become the institutional slogan

and the university wanted to become a leading research-oriented university

internationally.

With this shared slogan, a majority of the interviewees mentioned the university’s

world ranking related to internationalization. A senior leader said that the Research

Working Group had studied a similar type of foreign university that was highly ranked in

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the world-university ranking to develop Tanka University’s future strategic plan on

research. This future strategic plan on research was discussed from the viewpoint of how

Tanka University should advance its research function in light of the competition in the

three emerging global markets of researchers, students, and external funds. The senior

leader stated:

That is to say, the purpose [of internationalization] is what I just described. To be concrete, to survive as a world-class university, we have to be in the forefront of [competition] not only for pursuing truth, but also in the actual global markets of [researchers, students and external funds] by carefully examining its trends (31-22).

While the importance of positioning Tanka University in a global market of

higher education was recognized among all interviewees, some interviewees described

challenges the university has due to its uniqueness. Tanka University specializes in social

sciences. An interviewee described the difficulty universities without the fields of science

and technology in a non-Anglophone country have when trying to gain international

recognition; however, he noted that as a top university in Japan, making decisions about

internationalization based on the global standard is unavoidable:

…In the fields of humanities and social sciences, their research themes are very influenced by culture and language. Therefore, they are difficult fields to gain international recognition. Consequently, it is difficult to develop [internationalization] strategies. The most common form of international recognition is university ranking. It is difficult for universities like us and University [X] [another research-oriented university specializing in the fields of social sciences and humanities] to be recognized in the Times [Higher Education]. Then, liberal arts colleges like ICU [International Christian University] never appear there. So, we are one of the universities that face difficult competition. However, thinking about the meaning of internationalization, as it was written in the internationalization strategy, as a top university in the field of social sciences in Japan, we have to consider the global standard. Since economics, management, law, and social [sciences] are academic fields that have to be discussed within the scope of Asia or the world, internationalization is logical in a sense…(34-4).

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Another interviewee reiterated this same sentiment by pointing to the institutional

spirit or attitude of Tanka University as a leading research-oriented university in Japan:

…Well, [we are] the only one in the world and No. 1 in Asia as the university in the field of social sciences. This is a little….but we are fully conscious that we have to be at least a leading university in Japan. We cannot win if we compete squarely with Tokyo University and Kyoto University because we are small. However, we have a sense that we have to do better than the College of Law or the College of Social Science at Tokyo University. When we aim to be a leading university, the international dimension is expected to be integrated into education and research….Internationalization is not a part of [our institutional] reputation. In the first place, Tanka University is a research university….Of course, we do education, but compared with the private universities, we tend to attach greater importance to research. Our graduate schools are also large….In such an environment, an international dimension is inevitable. In my opinion, Tanka University understands that internationalization is not specifically selected [as an institutional feature], but it is integrated as a typical dimension (36-40).

These interviewees highlighted the reality of universities in non-Anglophone countries

without the fields of science and technology—that the global elite league is almost out of

reach. Nevertheless, as a leading research-oriented university in Japan, it is absolutely

necessary that Tanka University achieve a global standard and gain an international

recognition in the specialized fields of social sciences.

Internationalization began being recognized as an institutional agenda due to the

changing environment surrounding the university. Tanka University aims to coordinate

their international activities with a more systemic approach to establish global-scale

information and personal networks to further increase their international mobility. One

faculty member commented that internationalization with the main objective of

increasing international mobility for staff and students is a common approach in Japan.

He claimed, however, that the typical current internationalization approach does not refer

to the further issue of making regular staff more international:

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There is not a certain [shared understanding of internationalization]. Everyone has a very vague impression of internationalization. They perceive that internationalization seems to be very good and it is the global trend. Under such circumstances, to internationalize the university, a thing to begin with is to secure international students, and then, to send Japanese students abroad. Then, researcher exchange comes. If you ask whether those [activities] mean internationalization [of the university], it is not necessarily so. Specifically, in the case of Japan, we are behind in multi-culturalization or multi-nationalization of academic and administrative support staff members. There are very few [universities] addressing these issues in Japan (34-11).

This interviewee indicated that internationalization of the university is more than an

increase in international mobility of staff and students. He raised the issue of their lack of

consideration of staff members’ international diversity. Two other interviewees also

pointed out the challenges of internationally diversifying regular academic and

administrative staff members (31-30 & 36-78-79).

In summary, internationalization became an institutional agenda after the

corporatization of national universities rather than being viewed as additional activities in

specialized units. There has also been increased attention given to the globalizing higher

education market such as competition for researchers, students, and external funds. As a

leading research-oriented university in Japan, Tanka University aims to become a world-

class university. Nevertheless, they recognize the challenge of becoming a member of the

global elite league because they are a small research-oriented university without science

and technology fields. However, Tanka University aims to be a leading university in the

field of social sciences with a global standard.

Under these conditions, internationalization is an important institutional agenda to

achieve the goal of becoming a world-class university. The main objectives of

internationalization are to establish global-scale information and personal networks and

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to promote the international mobility of scholars and students. The internationalization

strategy includes not only initiatives regarding programs and the infrastructure to

promote international mobility, but also to the establishment of an administrative unit to

direct and manage internationalization at the central level. However, some interviewees

raised the question of if internationalization with the main objective of increasing

international mobility is a limited approach since it does not refer to the issue of

international diversification of regular staff members.

In this section, we examined objectives of internationalization and the context in

which the objectives were set up. In the following section, the implemented initiatives are

examined to further discuss Tanka University’s internationalization approach.


Internationalization initiatives were examined to reveal what kinds of

international programs and activities were implemented at Tanka University according to

the newly established internationalization strategy. It was clear that internationalization

activities increased and their scope had broadened at Tanka University. The implemented

internationalization initiatives were discussed by interviewees in terms of two main

university functions: research and education. In addition, branding of the university as a

new internationalization initiative emerged through data analysis.

Research

International academic exchange has been active for many years at Tanka

University as a leading research-oriented university in Japan as mentioned above. A

faculty member also commented that internationalization of research does not have to be

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an institutionally prioritized issue since international academic exchange has been

traditionally well promoted:

…When you talk about internationalization, internationalization of research cannot be a big topic. Our university is one of the top universities in Japan and our international academic exchange has been promoted with top-class [foreign] universities. At that time, probably academic exchange was the only concern. Then, [presently], it is [not] so behind. Although it might not change so much compared with the past activities, international academic exchange has been making reasonable progress. We have a lot of faculty members who are proficient in foreign languages. Since the university is financially fairly sufficient, young faculty members have opportunities to go abroad and gain experience. We have been keeping a high level of academic exchange although I am not sure if it is comparable globally…(33-34).

Although active international academic exchange has been recognized and

promoted, it became more important to encourage institutional-level efforts to support

international activities and establish a world-class center of research in social sciences. In

the internationalization strategy, three objectives were identified: the establishment of a

world-class research infrastructure, development of global networks, and recruitment of

talented researchers.

Tanka University aims to pursue cutting-edge research relevant to the 21st century by creating new research areas within social sciences. This will be achieved through the establishment of world-class research institutions, the construction of global networks, the advancement of traditional social sciences, the promotion of interdisciplinary research in the social sciences and cross-disciplinary research systems. In order to enhance the international mobility of researchers, the creation of world-class research environments and the construction of global networks are especially important elements for world-wide recruitment of excellent researchers (Internationalization Strategies, March 28, 2008, website).

While the research capacity of the university was highly regarded among

interviewees, internationalization of research was discussed from the viewpoint of how

the university can join the world-wide competition. The implemented initiatives were

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linked to the issue of how to position the university in the global market for higher

education. The four implemented initiatives were:

• To improve capacity to disseminate intellectual products internationally.

• To implement a senior administration initiative and support it to obtain the


• To establish a system to support distinctive research activities.

• To create an alternative system for international recruitment of talented young

researchers.

Several interviewees mentioned the university’s weak capacity to disseminate

information internationally while recognizing its good research capacity. A faculty

member discussed their weak capacity of information dissemination, referring to the self-

evaluation on 16 internationalization items:

…In the case of Tanka University, in the field of management and economics, the articles are published internationally, and they are ranked at the top in Japan. So, the research capacity of the university is quite high, but we are not successful when it comes to calling attention internationally to our research ability. In other words, the capacity of [international] public relations is weak. The magnitude of information dissemination is low. Even though our research capacity is high, our capacity to publish the results of research [internationally] is very weak (34-21).

To improve the university’s capacity to disseminate intellectual products

internationally, there were two interventions besides improving the website and other

public relations materials, by making them at least bilingual in Japanese and English. One

intervention was establishing an institutional repository in 2007 which is an online library

of intellectual materials produced by scholarly activities at the universities. They created

a database of researchers and their work which was publically available both

domestically and internationally. The other intervention began in 2006 and involved

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providing young scholars with funds to publish their work in English. Its purpose is to

encourage young scholars to submit their work to internationally competitive research

journals. The fund assists them in writing or translating their articles into English.

To enhance research at an international standard, internationalization of research

was also linked to obtaining competitive government funds and recruiting internationally

talented researchers. A senior leader also discussed the increased central administrative

support to obtain these government funds as they increased after the corporatization of

national universities. He explained that a central administrative support unit provides

consultation on grant writing (31-14). In 2004, an institutional fund was also established

to support selected projects with innovative, interdisciplinary, or important basic research

characteristics.

The last implemented initiative was creating an alternative system to recruit

talented young researchers. Obtaining the large competitive government funds such as the

Global COE Programs has allowed the university to hire international young scholars

with the main duty of research on a contract basis. The university also established an

enhanced invited fellow program in 2006, even though it has been inviting internationally

well-known scholars for a long time. In this new program, the university invites young

talented international researchers mainly for research activities. However, a senior leader

claimed that hiring international faculty with a primary role of researcher was limited

since this type of hiring has only occurred based on special research projects with

external funds, and hiring international scholars as regular faculty members was more

difficult in the current university system in Japan.

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Well, there is an issue on the relationship between research and education. In reality, in terms of research, we want many of these kinds of people [international researchers for a limited term]. But, in the Japanese university system, we can rarely hire those people, who don’t take on a teaching load, as faculty members [tenure-track faculty]. It is difficult to hire scholars who devote their time only to research for a certain period of time except in cases like the Global COE program. Then, to hire them as tenure-track, in other words, a regular faculty member, we need someone who can work as a faculty member [taking on a teaching load] as well as conduct international research, but there are very few international scholars like that…[31-30].

In a later statement, this senior leader also claimed that it is difficult to hire

international faculty as regular faculty members because of the language issue.

International scholars without Japanese language proficiency cannot fulfill regular

teaching load assignments since the current undergraduate and graduate curriculum is

mostly taught in Japanese. Although there is an effort to increase the number of

international faculty members, the challenge with respect to the faculty members’ role in

both research and teaching was identified under the current educational condition of

Japanese universities.

In summary, international scholarly exchange and activities have been historically

well-promoted at Tanka University. However, the institutional level engagement on

internationalization of research recently increased due to the institutional objective to

develop a global center of research in the field of social science. The institutional efforts

focused on how to position the university in the global higher education market. Thus, the

implemented initiatives included international dissemination of intellectual products,

support to obtain the competitive government research funds, financial support to

increase distinctive research activities, and the creation of an alternative system for

international recruitment of talented young researchers. Among these initiatives, the

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priority of international dissemination of intellectual products was identified. A senior

leader at Tanka University stated:

…In other words, to participate in global higher education competition, first the existence of our university needs to be recognized….We are encouraging faculty to submit articles in English to journals that are internationally competitive. If the article is written in Japanese, the university will pay for the cost of translation….Specially, we would like to prepare young researchers’ articles in English and submit them to journals that are subject to world ranking. (31-12-13).

This senior leader explained that the international dissemination of scholarly activities is

a priority to increase the university’s international standing and reputation. Due to the

globalized higher education market, publishing in English has increasingly become an

important activity in the fields of social sciences and the humanities. Historically, it has

been less prioritized compared to the fields of science and technology in which

publishing in English is now the academic norm.

Education

Tanka University’s educational goal is to “nurture individuals to play an active

part in the world” (Internationalization Strategies, March 28, 2008, website). An

interviewee stated that Tanka University aims to “nurture individuals who can show their

ability outside of Japan” according to the institutional motto of nurturing industry leaders

(32-45). To achieve this educational goal, Tanka University set up two main objectives:

advancement of educational exchange programs with existing partner institutions and

developing a support system to promote educational exchange (Internationalization

Strategies, March 28, 2008, website). The identified implemented initiatives aimed (1) to

recruit talented international students, (2) to provide domestic students with international

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learning opportunities, and (3) to support domestic students to develop English skills so

they can participate in international learning opportunities.

Tanka University established two graduate professional programs with English as

the language of instruction: a graduate program (master’s and doctoral degrees) in

business administration and a graduate program (master’s and doctoral degrees) in Asian

public policy (Table 32). These programs were established under a graduate school with a

newly established international theme in 2000 to meet the needs of an internationalizing

society and to increase the international standards and openness of the curriculum. To

further enhance internationalization, the academic year of these programs begins in

October instead of April so they can attract more international students. The graduate

program in business administration targeted both international students and Japanese

students but international students account for about 70% of the total student population

in this program (The Graduate School website, August 2009). The graduate program in

Asian public policy is targeted primarily at students from diverse Asian countries who

have professional experience in the field of public policy.

Table 32. International Graduate Programs Programs

Target

Year of start

Master’s and doctoral programs in business administration Master’s and doctoral programs in Asian public policy

Int’l and Japanese student Int’l students from Asia

2000 2000

Another initiative related to the international student population was to diversify

the length of exchange programs, primarily for undergraduate students at partner

institutions. Their exchange program is one year long, and exchange students take

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courses in Japanese as a second language and regular academic courses in Japanese.

Since 2007, exchange students can participate in the exchange program either for one

year or one semester. One faculty member mentioned the challenge of implementing a

one-semester exchange program due to the educational tradition and philosophy of the

university’s undergraduate curriculum, which is a year-long seminar course:

…Our university is known for the seminar system of instruction. In their junior year, students belong to a professor’s research laboratory. Then, they are instructed by a professor for two years with a small group of colleagues like 10 to 15 students…This seminar course is a four-credit course. Students receive four total credits by completing one year of continuous coursework. Then, students take two seminar courses for two years. Even though it is not written anywhere, this seminar is the most important aspect of [education] at the university. We want international students to learn Tanka University’s academics. In order to do that, sixth months is too short. At least, they need one year. They belong to a professor’s research laboratory, attend a seminar every week and participate in a study retreat during the summer. In such a learning environment, students foster social scientific perspectives and advanced knowledge in the specialized field. Six months is too short. Students are not coming here to have a good time. There was this kind of atmosphere…Therefore, one semester exchange was rejected. However, with the current trend [of increased student mobility worldwide], the number of people who are opposed to a one-semester exchange decreased even though no one strongly supports it (32-24).

He explained that the global trend in student mobility decreased the former unfavorable

attitude toward one-semester exchanges, which conflicts with the educational tradition

and philosophy at the university. He also indicated that one semester was not just a trend,

but was becoming an issue since the number of requests for one-semester exchanges from

partner universities had increased (32-20).

Tanka University has a history of encouraging domestic students to study abroad

due to the strong financial support from the Alumni Association. Every year 30 students

are fully funded to study abroad for one year. In 2007, a group of students who had

received the alumni scholarship to study abroad established a student association to

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promote international student exchanges at the university. Moreover, the International

Student Center publishes an annual journal about students’ international and intercultural

experiences of studying abroad. However, an interviewee recognized a recent decrease in

students applying for the institutional scholarship to study abroad:

…[In terms of the institutional scholarship], one point in the past, there were dozens of or one hundred applications. We selected recipients among such a large pool, but recently the number of applications is gradually decreasing (15-27).

By setting up a goal of 10% of the student body studying abroad in the

internationalization strategy, Tanka University established more diversified study abroad

programs to increase the number of students studying abroad. For example, the university

began providing a short-term study abroad program during spring break in 2005, and in

2008, there were five short-term study abroad programs. Three of these programs were

English language and culture programs, and two out of the three were credited. The other

two programs are a Chinese language and culture program and an internship program.

Three out of five programs are coordinated by the International Student Center.

Two English language and culture programs with credits are coordinated by the

Department of English. Tanka University requires undergraduate students to take two

kinds of foreign language courses with eight credits per language. If students choose

English language as one of their requirements, they can choose a study abroad program to

fulfill a part of the requirement, making these programs particularly attractive. The study

abroad programs described above are summarized in Table 33.

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Table 33. Study Abroad Programs for Domestic Students Program Type

Programs


Exchange Program

• One-year exchange program with

foreign partner universities


Center Short-term program (summer and spring break)

• 2 language and culture programs

(1 English and 1 Chinese) • 2 language and culture programs

(English and credited)


Center • the Department of English

Internship Program

• 1 internship program


Center In summary, the discourse on internationalization of education targeted student

mobility. Historically, Tanka University has been promoting student exchanges with

foreign partner institutions, both inbound and outbound, with strong support from its

alumni. Recently, the student exchange program diversified the length of the study

abroad programs with an increasing trend toward one-semester exchanges. To recruit

talented international students, programs with English as the instructional medium were

established at the graduate level. For domestic students, two initiatives were

implemented. The first initiative was the provision of alternative study abroad

opportunities besides a traditional exchange program. Within three years, the number of

short-term study abroad programs increased from one to five. The second initiative was a

change in the English language curriculum to improve proficiency. At the undergraduate

level, an achievement-based approach was implemented, and at the graduate level,

English academic skills such as writing and presentation were emphasized. Two graduate

schools also implemented a structured curriculum.

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Some interviewees expressed the need to increase the courses with English as the

language of instruction. Tanka University has only two graduate programs with English

as the language of instruction. They are also provided on a branch campus where an

international-theme graduate school is located. A faculty member stated, “…It is

impossible to accept a large number of international students without educating them in

English. It is too costly to spend one or two years to learn Japanese language…” (34-40).

Another faculty member mentioned that due to implementation of a semester-long

exchange program, now Tanka University is going to face increased pressure to provide

undergraduate courses in English:

…In particular, we began thinking about teaching classes in English. Rather, there is a demand because international students who cannot speak Japanese at all will come [for a semester exchange program] for six months. Then, we have to teach courses in English. It has some impact on changes in the university. I don’t think that the university should provide courses in English and essentially the university should provide courses in Japanese; however, the university needs to have enough faculty members who can teach in English when it is necessary. It is getting more important to provide choices—not only one, but there are always two or more choices. It is important to develop the university with wide-ranging choices. The more international student exchanges are promoted, the more we need to increase the commonality of education [system] at the university… (32-66).

While this faculty member expressed the need for more courses in English, he later

identified the issue of the lack of faculty members who are willing to offer courses in

English. Another faculty member provided an explanation as to why faculty members are

not willing to teach in English:

There is another issue regarding courses taught in English. There is no incentive. Like South Korea, the university should give faculty incentives. Without incentives, probably faculty will not offer a course in English. It is easy to teach in Japanese. For example, the university could increase their salary or give grants to faculty who teach a course in English or develop study course materials. There is no incentive, so faculty will not teach courses in English (36-50).

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He identified a lack of incentives to develop courses taught in English indicating that

internationalization of the curriculum still relies on the will and efforts of individual

faculty members, and there is no institutional support structure yet.

University Branding

The importance of strengthening international public relations was identified as

another objective: “Strengthening overseas PR and building the brand name ‘[Tanka]

University’” in the internationalization strategy. An interviewee stated:

…Tanka University is well known domestically and can attract talented [domestic] students, but if you talk about global reputation, first of all, the name of the university is simply not known….Tanka University needs to gain recognition of its presence to participate in global competition. Then, we need to make efforts to increase the university’s reputation…(31-12).

The issue of positioning the university internationally has already been discussed earlier

in relation to internationalization of research, particularly the implemented initiatives

aimed to internationally disseminate the results of research. Besides these efforts,

however, Tanka University implemented various initiatives from the perspective of

establishing the university’s international identity. The essential university public relation

materials, including the website and university catalogues were produced both in

Japanese and English. The university also began publishing its own magazine in English

and in Japanese in 2008 to showcase the university’s achievements around the world.

There was also a plan to establish the first standardized stationary, business cards, and

power point slides in English and Japanese with the university’s logo (31-14).

In summary, it has been challenging for the university to make an internationally

recognized name for itself in light of global higher education competition. Many

interviewees acknowledged their competitive capacity for research, but the focus had to

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be on implementing initiatives to present the university internationally. The initiatives

included systems to disseminate the results of research internationally such as creating an

institutional repository and funds for English translation of scholarly work and improving

international public relations.


terms of two main functions of the university: research and education. A key theme that

emerged was branding. In the following sections, we discuss how the administrative

system has changed to implement those initiatives.

Change in the Administrative System

The centers of actual international academic activities are colleges where students

and faculty members reside. The key issue discussed in this section is how the central

university administrative system could help more students, faculty members, and

departments promote their international academic activities. In the former section,

recently implemented internationalization initiatives were examined. To support these

internationalization initiatives, the administrative system has had to change at Tanka

University.

Restructuring the organization for internationalization began in 2005, and,

eventually, they established the International Strategy Headquarters (ISH), a university-

wide system to direct and coordinate internationalization. Traditionally, Tanka University

has had a council and two committees to discuss international issues, an administrative

support unit for educational exchanges, a staff position to support academic exchange

activities, and the International Student Center to provide both international and domestic

students with educational and social

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services. The establishment of ISH promoted a stronger inter-connected system among

these units to support international activities at the central level with three functions:

strategic planning, task force and operations functions. The new organizational structure

is presented in Figure 14. In the following section, changes in the administrative system

of internationalization are discussed focusing on changes in structure, management, and

participants.

Figure 14. Organizational Structure for Internationalization at Tanka University in August 2008

President Level 1: Central Administration

Executive Board

International Strategy Headquarters (ISH)

Center for Student

Exchange Task Force Function

Executive Vice President (Research, International Affairs, and Evaluation)

Academic Affairs

Department Student

Exchange Division

Operations Function

Council of International Strategy

Strategic Planning Function

Administrative Director and Director of ISH

Task Force Function + Consultant

General Affairs

Department Research Support Division

Operations Function

Council for International

Exchange

Committee for Academic Exchange

Committee for

Student Exchange

Overseas Office in China

International Joint Research Center:

Admin. Support Office Operational Function

EU Institute in Japan

International Strategic Advisors: external experts to

evaluate international activities

Level 2: University-wide Specialized Units

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The dominant coalition for internationalization has been a two-layered system, in

which two kinds of international exchange committees are under the Council of

International Exchange. One committee for academic exchange and the other one for

student exchange discuss international exchange issues and make suggestions to the

Council of International Exchange. This council then makes a decision on the final

recommendations. The council, held once or twice a year, consists of a representative

from each college and a representative from the two international exchange committees

under an executive vice president. The two committees are organized under the Assistant

to the Executive Vice President for Research or the Assistant to the Executive Vice

President for Education. The committees are also faculty-oriented groups although they

also include a few administrative support staff. The faculty members represent university-

wide centers related to international exchange or university-wide committees regarding

either research or education.

In 2006, ISH was established under direct control of the president. It consists of

two directors, an administrative support staff member, and members of the Council of

International Strategy (CIS). CIS is the core coalition of ISH and has the mission of

developing an institutional plan on internationalization. As the forerunner of CIS, the

university established a working group to develop the internationalization strategy in

2005 which was dissolved to form the ISH as a formal department. CIS now consists of

three senior administrators, four faculty members, two quasi-faculty members (the

Administrative Director of the ISH, and the Director of the Beijing Office) and three

administrative support staff members (Table 34).

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Table 34. Members of the Council of International Strategy (CIS) in August 2008 Position Profiles Senior Leaders

• Executive Vice President: Research, International Affairs, Evaluation (Chair) • Assistant to Executive Vice President: Research • Assistant to Executive Vice President: Education

Faculty • Administrative Director, International Strategy Headquarters (ISH) • Associate Professor/Director, ISH • Professor/Director, Center for Student Exchange • Professor/Director, EU Institute in Japan • Director, Beijing Office • Professor/Director, International Join Research Center

Admin. Support Staff

• Manager, General Affairs Department • Manager, Research Support Division, General Affairs Department • Manager, Student Exchange Division, Academic Affairs Department

The Executive Vice President for Research, International Affairs and Evaluation

is in charge of overall institutional internationalization. He supervises ISH and is the

chair of CIS. Originally, the Executive Vice President for Social Collaboration was in

charge of internationalization but the responsibility shifted to the Executive Vice

President for Research. International Affairs was then added to the title to the Executive

Vice President for Research in November 200819. The Assistant to the Executive Vice

President for Research and the Assistant to the Executive Vice President for Education

are also members of CIS. They also take an active role at the highest council on

education and research, which consists of deans and faculty representatives from each

college under the senior administration. The four faculty members and two quasi-faculty

members are from the university-wide centers for international exchange and education.

Finally, three administrative support staff members are in managerial positions in the

central administrative support units for international exchange.

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The composition of the new dominant coalition to plan institutional

internationalization has more senior leadership and expertise in international exchange

among the members, but it does not have any faculty members from academic

departments. Moreover, equal participation of administrative support staff began to be

expected as stated in the internationalization strategy:

[The Council of International Strategy], the core of [ISH], is comprised of both staff and faculty members [italics added], and comprehensively promotes the international strategies and action plans on equal footing [italics added] (Internationalization Strategies, March 28, 2008, website).

The purpose of developing ISH was to improve the strategic planning function to

promote university-wide internationalization systematically. The main function of

including three extant dominant coalitions was to consult about the emerging issues on

international exchange, but it lacked the function of developing the institutional vision

and direction on internationalization. Since the Council of International Exchange is held

only once or twice a year to make final decisions on the issues raised by the two

committees for international exchange, there is no time to play a strategic planning role.

In terms of the functions of those two committees, a senior leader clearly stated that the

function of the Academic Exchange Committee is to deal with logistical issues on

concrete international activities by stating, “…The Academic Exchange Committee deals

with routine business such as issues on international students, exchange agreements, and

holding international symposiums. The committee is responsible for such routine

work…” (10). The committee rarely has a strategic planning function.

19 It happened after data collection.

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A faculty member also pointed out that the lack of expertise in international

student exchange among the committee members made it difficult to extend the function

of the Student Exchange Committees to strategic planning:

…Let’s see how often the Student Exchange Committee holds a meeting–probably, five or six times [per year]. That’s it. In addition, the committee members change every two years. In Japan, universities and companies basically foster generalists, but very few specialists. Since the members change every two years, the committee consists of members who don’t have accumulated knowledge. They don’t know what happened historically or what the current issues are. Then, at the meeting, we cannot get to a level of discussing policies or plans on international exchange or international student exchange. They are not experts, but they happen to be members because they are selected by their colleges [or university-wide committees on education], basically. Therefore, all they can do is to discuss the issues in front of them each time. There is no room to discuss how to plan internationalization as a whole institution…(32-9-10).

This faculty member highlighted the common issue of committee membership which is

based on rotation system and the college’s or each university-committee’s decision on the

selection of the members. This system has caused difficulties in attempting to foster

expertise among international exchange committee members.

Adding ISH to the existing three committees for international exchange increased

the strategic planning function for internationalization at the central level. Although its

function is identified clearly, some interviewees discussed the on-going ambiguous

position of ISH in the larger map of institutional decision-making. One interviewee

stated:

...There are too many committees and councils. It is hard to understand what issues should be discussed in what committees and councils. For example, in terms of international affairs, let me write on a blackboard. [He wrote relationship diagram of the four groups related to internationalization. The Academic Exchange Committee and the Student Exchange Committee are under the Council of International Exchange. The International Strategy Headquarters is located separately.]….The relationship between the Council of International Exchange and the International Strategy Headquarters is perplexing. The International

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Strategy Headquarters was established three or four years ago. The one unit was established as something like a stepping stone [separate from the other committees]. All universities have difficulty knowing how the International Strategy Headquarters should maintain a relationship with the extant committees and decision-making units. It is the same for us. Moreover, there are committees related to education, committees related to student services, and committees related to administrative support. The relationship among these committees is hard to understand. Too many committees. In terms of [international] exchange agreements, ones for student exchange are discussed in the Student Exchange Committee while ones for academic exchange are discussed in the Academic Exchange Committee. Then, finally it goes to the Council of International Exchange, which is the large meeting held only once or twice a year. The pace of the process is so slow. If the International Strategy Headquarters submits a proposal, it takes so much time since the proposal goes through different committees. It is a system issue. Strategy is largely related with an organization’s ability. It requires speed, but it lacks speed (34-74).

This interviewee identified the complex traditional system of the university’s decision-

making as a challenge due to the number of committees and acknowledged that it impacts

the strategic planning function of ISH. The complexity of the system results in a slow

decision-making process although speed is essential to strategic planning.

In summary, at Tanka University, several international exchange committees have

served as the initial decision-making system on matters of international exchange;

however, such a system lacks the ability and function to develop a vision and direction

for internationalization for the whole university. Since the committee members are

selected by colleges or other university-wide committees under a rotation system, it is

difficult to foster expertise in international exchange among the committee members or to

develop a strategic plan for internationalization. The newly established ISH is equipped

with the strategic planning function, which houses the Council of International Strategy

as the dominant coalition for university-wide internationalization planning. The

difference in configuration of the members between the new committee and other

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committees is the increase in senior leadership, expertise in international exchange, and

involvement of administrative support staff. Although ISH was established as the central

unit for internationalization strategic planning, the multiple committees, which are set up

to discuss the issues of internationalization, highlight the issue of a complex decision-

making process. This complexity of the structure affects the university’s ability to make

prompt institutional decisions on international matters which is an essential characteristic

of strategic planning although it enhances consensus-building among colleges.

Structure for Managing International Activities at the Central Administration Level

In the previous section, establishment of the strategic planning function for

internationalization was discussed. In this section, we examine how the task force and

operations functions evolved to understand the structure for coordinating the

implementation of international activities.

As explained above, the Council of International Strategy in ISH takes on the

strategic planning function. In practice, the members of ISH, except the administrative

director and director, mainly participate in the council meetings for internationalization

strategic planning. The administrative director and director are full-time staff20 in ISH,

hired to specialize in assisting internationalization at the university. Their role is mainly

an overall consultation role on matters of internationalization. An interviewee explained:

The Council [of International Strategy] meetings were held many times during the year. After the internationalization strategy was developed and began being implemented, the meetings have not been held so often since the International Strategy Headquarters is not a unit that operates [international] programs. Once

20 The meaning of full-time here is that they hold appointments at the International Strategy Headquarters as their main department.

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the strategy was developed, [the administrative director and director] took on a consultant role on the development of [international] programs at colleges for example. [They] make suggestions and answer questions on issues they [colleges and departments] have. In other words, the International Strategy Headquarters [ISH] is not a task force unit. If [ISH] were a task force unit, the speed of internationalization could be accelerated, but [ISH] doesn’t have it [the role of a task force] (34-34).

This interviewee described the function of ISH as mainly a consultant office to assist

colleges and departments in implementing international activities. The directors of ISH

are also members of the university-wide committees and working groups related to

internationalization or international dimensions of the university functions. They also

work closely with three main university-wide units for international exchange. In a way,

they are the liaisons of internationalization with university-wide units doing international

exchanges along with the central administration. Although ISH has the unique role of

promoting internationalization, the interviewee saw its lack of personnel for a task force

function as a challenge. The impact of ISH on the implementation of internationalization

initiatives is limited even though both directors are quite active in supporting the

implementation of some internationalization activities such as staff development

programs and study abroad programs.

Tanka University has three main university-wide units that support and manage

the implementation of internationalization: the International Student Center, the Student

Exchange Division under the Academic Affairs Department, and the Research Support

Division under the General Affairs Department. These units all fulfill task force and

operations functions for internationalization at the university-wide level. The

International Student Center has been a driving force, however, to promote international

student exchange and campus internationalization since its establishment in 1996. The

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International Student Center consists of a Japanese Language Section and an Advising

and Counseling Section. There are five faculty members for the Japanese Language

Section and one faculty member and four faculty positions reallocated by the colleges for

the Advising and Counseling Section.

At national universities, historically, international student advising positions are

allocated to colleges that have a large number of international students. At Tanka

University, four colleges have a full-time faculty position for international student

exchange. The university developed a centralized advising system by appointing these

faculty members to the Advising and Counseling Section in the International Student

Center. Besides advising and counseling services, these faculty members have taken an

active role in implementing educational internationalization initiatives both abroad and at

home. They develop and coordinate short-term study abroad programs and educational

initiatives to promote campus internationalization. As diverse study abroad opportunities

were set up as one of the main educational internationalization initiatives, the task force

function of these faculty members increased.

The operations function on internationalization is split into two different units

since there is no centralized administrative support department for international exchange

at Tanka University. The Student Exchange Division under the Academic Affairs

Department mainly deals with routine business for international student exchange while

an administrative support staff member in the Research Support Division under the

General Affairs Department is appointed to routine business for international academic

exchange. The Student Exchange Division works closely with the International Student

Center. Since the center has only faculty members, the Student Exchange Division

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supports its operations function. The Student Exchange Division is located in the same

building as the International Student Center. As study abroad initiatives increased,

collaboration also increased between the Student Exchange Division and the Advising

and Counseling Section in the International Student Center.

In 2007, an administrative support office was established under the International

Joint Research Center to enhance the operations function for international academic

exchange, the ultimate goal is to make it a one-stop, university-wide service office for

international academic exchange; however, currently, the office only deals with certain

categories of international academic exchange due to limited human resources.

Although there is an institutional effort to expand the capacity of the operations

function, an interviewee mentioned the need for a more unified operations function

system for international exchange matters.

…We don’t have an International Affairs Department. I believe that we need one. We have several offices instead of an International Affairs Department. A secretarial section of the Office of the President deals with the matters at the presidential level. Then, the Research Support Division for scholarly exchange—they also deal with the matters related to the president’s guests. Then, the Student Exchange Division is for the matters of international student exchange. In other words, there are various offices to choose to contact. Then, when the issue of internationalization arises, which cannot be clearly categorized, we wonder which office takes care of it. It is not good. Also considering time efficiency, it would be good to have a one-stop service. It would be best if a one-stop service would direct all inquiries to the appropriate offices...(35-104).

In summary, the functions of promoting internationalization at the university-wide

administration level have been expanded by adding new units after corporatization: an

administrative support office for international joint research activities and ISH even

though Tanka University already had well-established units for international student

exchange. The Student Exchange Division was established as the centralized unit for

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operations function while the International Student Center has a group of faculty

members to take on the task force function for new internationalization initiatives such as

study abroad programs by gathering faculty members specializing in international

exchange and education in the center. The collaboration of the two units increased as

international education initiatives increased.

An administrative support office was developed in the International Joint

Research Center with an attempt to develop a central administrative support office for

international research activities, but the provision of its service is currently limited.

ISH was established to strengthen the strategic planning function. The newly

established positions of the administrative director and director of ISH also have a unique

role in terms of the implementation of internationalization activities as consultants to

promote further internationalization.

The administrative structure to support and manage the implementation of

international activities at the central level is described as an interrelated system rather

than a unified system under the senior administration. Each unit remains in its own

specialized area, but they cooperate as issues emerge. Nevertheless, the unique role of the

two directors of ISH as liaisons enhances interrelatedness of those units.


Coordination between the central administrative system and colleges regarding

internationalization were examined at two levels: at the policy-making level and at the

implementation level. As mentioned in the section on the dominant coalition for

internationalization, Tanka University has a multiple-layered structure for

internationalization issues. The various committees are based on a college representative

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model rather than on a top-down and expertise model except for the Council of

International Strategy in ISH. Although the policy-making process was based on a

consensus decision-making model among the senior administration and colleges due to

the extant organizational culture and structure, the ISH is now the main unit to develop

the strategic plan for internationalization.

Another coordination issue is the formal communication network among units or

positions specializing in international student exchange at the central and college levels.

Tanka University established a unified system by assigning one faculty member for

international student exchange in four colleges to the International Student Center. The

Student Exchange Division is also the primary operation unit where international students

go to complete business procedures to study at Tanka University. A faculty member

indicated that the small size of the university allows adequate coordination of

international student exchange activities in a centralized system:

Since Tanka University is small, we have a centralized system…In terms of the issues on international students, the Student Exchange Division and the Center of Student Exchange take care of them. Although the students are in each college, first students come to the center and the center takes care of them rather than each college taking care of them. It is a centralized system (33-14).

Another important system is the role of the administrative director and director of

ISH as consultants as mentioned above. They consult with colleges and departments and

help them implement international exchange activities. ISH also explains the

internationalization process with the campus community by holding a symposium on

internationalization at the university in the emerging global market for higher education

on campus.

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In summary, coordination of internationalization activities in the central

administrative system and college level was examined at two levels. At the policy-

making level, there is a formal communication path between the senior administration

and colleges by adopting a consensus-decision-making model. At the implementation

level, Tanka University established a centralized system to allocate human resources and

task responsibility to the specialized units by taking advantage of the smaller size of the

university. Moreover, they established new positions of the administrative director and

director in ISH to communicate and coordinate initiatives to promote internationalization

between the central and college levels.


At Tanka University, the International Student Center has historically played a

key role in promoting internationalization by establishing faculty positions with expertise

in international student exchange. One interviewee described them as a driving force for

internationalization:

Hmm, a driving force. Mmm. Well, it might be repetitive, but traditionally, it has been the university’s policy to take care of international students. Relatively, we are human resource rich in faculty members taking care of international students, including faculty members on [teaching] Japanese language. From the beginning, we have established such a tradition [to have faculty members with expertise in international student exchange]. [The faculty members in the International Student Center] take care of international students regarding Japanese language and advising. Moreover, traditionally they keep conveying information on the situation [of international student exchange] as the members of the [Student Exchange] Committee (33-35).

The faculty members in the International Student Center who specifically work on issues

related to student advising and counseling have began taking on further task force roles to

plan and manage the implementation of internationalization initiatives such as short-term

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study abroad programs for domestic students. These faculty members have academic

expertise in the field of international education and intercultural communication, and

three out of four faculty members earned graduate degrees from American universities.

Although Tanka University successfully established a group of specialists in

international exchange and education in the International Student Center, the

sustainability of the quality of specialists is up to colleges who hire those faculty

members. As mentioned above, three out of the four faculty members do not belong to

the Center for International Student Exchange, but hold positions in one of the colleges.

They are appointed to work at the center, but they are hired under a limited contact by

those colleges, and the Center for Student Exchange does not have any control over the

employment of these positions (33-12). As a matter of the fact, there are supposed to be

five faculty members to help with advising and counseling, but one position has not been

filled by a college for a while.

While the faculty members’ duties in the International Student Center increased to

help implement new internationalization initiatives, there are new actors to help further

promote internationalization. As discussed above, after corporatization, senior leaders

have paid increasing attention to the matters of internationalization. This change in senior

leadership positions related to international affairs and participants in the

internationalization strategic planning team in the ISH was discussed in the section of

dominant coalition for internationalization planning.

The most essential emerging key actors are the two experts in international

exchange in higher education, who were hired as the two directors when the ISH was

established. They were hired on fixed term contracts with competitive government funds.

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The Administrative Director of ISH was newly hired from outside, but the Director of

ISH was internally promoted to the position. He previously worked in the Advising and

Counseling Division of the Center for International Exchange. Both of them have been in

the field of international education for a long time, so they are able to consult on

internationalization at the senior administration level, as well as the college and

department levels. Their additional role as liaisons to assist and coordinate the

implementation of international activities with various units is also a strategic advantage

for the university.

One college and research center also established a new type of coordinator

position specializing in international exchange activities. These new staff members have

foreign language proficiency, especially English, and international business experience

(36-22 and 31-26-27), but they also were hired as contract coordinators.

Although these new experts and contract coordinators were hired, the majority of

interviewees claimed that the small number of existing administrative support staff and

their own lack of skills in international exchange business, especially English

proficiency, is a stumbling block for international exchange at the university. Even

though the quantity and quality of work has expanded, the number of full-time

administrative support staff has not increased due to a reduction in personnel costs and

operational subsidies from the government. Nevertheless, Tanka University has hired

contract or part-time administrative support staff members who have English fluency to

assist in the operating business of international exchange. Moreover, Tanka University

began providing administrative support staff with English language courses and

established staff development programs in collaboration with foreign partner institutions.

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A few staff members per year are sent to those institutions for staff training. In addition,

English fluency as an employment qualification has been prioritized for future hiring.

Although there have been efforts to increase the number of staff members with

international skills, some interviewees revealed a fundamental issue in the employment

policy of administrative support staff resulting in a lack of specialized knowledge and

skills in certain fields. A senior leader stated:

…From my perspective, the issue of staff members is the biggest stumbling block. Due to a historical factor, the number of administrative support staff members is smaller than other universities, to begin with….What I was envious about [a world-class university in the U.K.] was that they have staff members who have Ph.D. work so they can help the university obtain the grants for good research projects. We [faculty members] have to go find them by ourselves, but they have staff members who understand what research is, how to go abroad and collect funds. They have a system that researchers can devote themselves to research. Unfortunately, our system is not like that. To develop such a system, we have to do something with staff members. Well, we should hire our graduates as staff member like private universities in Japan. In the past, our graduates rarely became university staff members. From now on, we need to improve the position of staff members and hire individuals with a master’s or doctoral degree…(31-26).

The issue that the senior leader identified is the shortage of qualified staff due to the

current limited employment system. The historical role of administrative support staff

members at national universities has been limited to assistants for faculty members to

implement the government policy. The senior leader recognized the need to establish

administrative staff positions with specialized knowledge and skills to respond to the

changing environment surrounding the university.

In summary, new actors have emerged to fulfill different functions of promoting

internationalization as the amount and complexity of international activities has

increased. First, senior leaders have begun to take on the role of strategic planning for

internationalization as internationalization has become an institutional agenda after

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corporatization. Moreover, the Administrative Director and Director of ISH were hired as

experts in international exchange activities and strategic planning on internationalization.

These experts have led internationalization initiatives by taking on various roles

including consultants, project coordinators, and liaison.

Another key change is the roles specialized faculty and newly hired international

coordinators play. Tanka University historically has established faculty positions as

experts in international exchange and education by housing these individuals in a

university-wide specialized unit, the International Student Center. Now, these experts are

taking on further task force roles to plan and manage the implementation of

internationalization initiatives such as study abroad programs. At the college or

department levels, a few colleges and departments hired an administrative coordinator for

international activities. They deal with international business logistics and planning.

Finally, even at the routine operational level, international skills, especially

English language, have now become highly demanded. The issue of the current policy on

administrative support staff employment was raised due to the need for more qualified

staff to respond to the changing environment in the university. There is an increasing

need to hire administrative staff with specialized knowledge and skills in international

affairs and to create new diversified employment conditions.

Tanka University’s Process of Internationalization

International academic exchanges have been historically promoted as the

university’s tradition as well as the norm as a leading research-oriented university. While

Tanka University continues to pursue its commitment to nurturing industrial leaders with

its liberal arts academic traditions, the value of international education has been

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supported by its Alumni Association since the 1980s with scholarships for international

student exchange.

Tanka University has a large number of international students, who account for

9% of the total student population. The establishment of the International Student Center

in 1996 was a landmark move toward internationalization at Tanka University and can be

described as the beginning of institutionalizing internationalization. Traditionally, the

International Student Center’s function of Japanese language education was prioritized

over the function of international student exchange and education. However, Tanka

University successfully developed a team of faculty members as a group of experts to

enhance the function of international student exchange and education. To overcome the

small personnel allocation for the student exchange function at the Center, Tanka

University has reappointed faculty members who specialize in international student

exchange and education at colleges to the center. By grouping these specialized faculty

members, Tanka University has strengthened its expertise in the area of international

student exchange and education and increased the presence of the center as the key unit

of internationalization on campus. Their internationalization efforts are quite extensive in

terms of assistance for academic and social success of international students as well as for

international learning opportunities for domestic students.

In the face of corporatization of national universities, attention from the senior

administration to internationalization has also increased since Tanka University

established the goal of becoming a world-class center of education and research,

specifically in social sciences. By establishing the International Strategy Headquarters

(ISH), Tanka University developed a system to plan and manage internationalization at

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the central level. Tanka University hired two directors for the ISH and established a top-

down and expertise model for the steering core of internationalization planning within the

ISH. The new steering core was equipped with senior administration direction and

expertise in international exchange and education in the planning process; however, the

final decision-making process is still based on consensus between the senior

administration and college leaders. This traditional administrative system in which

various councils function together to reach consensus on the final decisions has

constrained progress toward prompt decisions. However, the university’s long liberal arts

academic tradition and small size might encourage them to more highly value a

democratic decision-making process.

What is unique on the internationalization process at Tanak University is the role

of the directors of ISH. Due to their established expertise in the field of international

exchange and education, they have taken on consultant roles as well as become advocates

of internationalization by reaching out to the senior administration, university-wide

committees and working groups, and colleges and departments for further promotion of


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CHAPTER VII: FINDINGS OF CROSS-CASE ANALYSIS

This chapter synthesizes the findings of the three individual university cases

presented in the previous chapters and presents a cross-case analysis of the process of

internationalization. The three individual university case chapters aimed to answer the

three research questions. The findings were presented in descriptive format to portray

each process of internationalization in its unique context and organizational

characteristics. The portrayals of the individual universities provided descriptions of the

different institutional origins and conditions, developmental processes of

internationalization, and key actors, but they also depicted the common elements of the

internationalization process. The purpose of this chapter is to present the five common

elements of the internationalization process across the three studied universities to

explore a strategic model to develop internationally oriented universities in Japan. With

respect to the proposed conceptual framework, the identified common elements largely

focus on the strategy and structure by examining how the three universities changed their

administrative system to implement the selected internationalization initiatives based on

their internationalization strategy. In other words, in this chapter, I discuss how these

universities have been institutionalizing international activities into the life of the

university.

This chapter begins by explaining the positions toward internationalization of the

three case institutions including how all three universities selected their competitive

strategy of internationalization. Then, analysis of the five identified elements to develop

internationally oriented universities is presented. The five elements include (1)

development of a deliberate internationalization strategy, (2) selection of

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internationalization initiatives: distinctiveness, accessibility and English capacity, (3) a

top-down and expertise-oriented steering core, (4) professionalization in international

exchange and education, and (5) the matrix structure for internationalization activities.

We discuss the characteristics of these five elements as well as the challenges to

institutionalize these elements.

Global Competition as Japan’s Leading Research-oriented Universities

Historically, all three studied universities have recognized the importance of

internationalization as the key attribute of a research-oriented university with their

institutional symbolic mottos. Old Teikoku University advocates the institutional

principles of research first and an open-door policy. Fukugo University aims to be an

institution representing the International City of Peace. Tanka University’s motto is to

nurture leaders who are taking an active role in the field of industry nationally and

internationally. The international activities and internationalization initiatives have been

driven largely by the research aspirations of individual scholars and the implementation

of the government policy to increase international students. However, the impact of

developing a graduate school and a center for international development and cooperation

at Fukugo University and the continuous financial support of the Alumni Association to

provide study abroad opportunities cannot be ignored.

In accordance with the establishment of an internationalization strategy,

internationalization gained recognition as an institutional agenda at each university. All

three studied universities began discussing internationalization as a means to achieve

their ultimate goal of becoming world-class universities in the context of increasing

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competition in the global higher education market and moving toward a collective effort

as institutions under the leadership of their senior administrations.

The shift towards internationalization along with the institutional direction and

plan across the three universities was largely related to the corporatization of national

universities under the current university reform. In accordance with the current university

reform, the three studied universities were forced to identify their institutional roles in the

Japanese higher education system and articulate their institutional missions and goals. As

leading research-oriented national universities, all studied universities shared the

common mission of contributing to society nationally and internationally through

education and research. They also recognized that their own efforts to become world-

class universities were inevitable if they want to continue to prosper as leading research

universities in the Japanese higher education system.

All studied universities set the goal of becoming world-class universities;

however, their scope of being global players varied due to the historical foundation of the

individual universities. Fukugo University and Tanka University were limited by their

own challenges of becoming world-class universities based on their own capacity while

Old Teikoku University aimed at becoming a member of the global elite league. Fukugo

University was constrained by a limited scale of financial resources and human resources,

and Tanka University was presented with a cultural challenge because of the limited use

of English as an academic language in the social science and humanity fields. However,

there is increasing awareness that each university’s domestic institutional position is

being affected by its international recognition and standing. Internationalization is not an

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option, but inevitable measures need to be undertaken to build their capacity to be

internationally competitive as well as to improve the quality of the universities.

The impact of the world university ranking charts was clear through interview

data and institutional initiatives with the goal of improving their international positions.

All studied universities linked internationalization to global excellence and became

strategic about supporting distinctive research projects and internationally recruiting

talented graduate students and young researchers. Furthermore, international institutional

profile building became an important strategy to increase their presence in the global

higher education market.

In the changing environment surrounding the universities such as the growing

global higher education market and the current university reform, the visible trend across

the three studied universities was their increasing consciousness that the national higher

education system resides in an international context. The discourse of their university’s

role as a leading research-oriented university in a national higher education system was

based on their perspectives of how they could contribute to the world as well as how they

could be competitive in the global higher education market so they could prosper or

survive as leading research-oriented universities in Japan. Internationalization became an

essential university-wide agenda relevant to institutional development rather than

preferred activities.

Development of a Deliberate Internationalization Strategy

All three universities developed a strategic plan specifically for

internationalization. The key issue examined here was how these universities are

approaching internationalization. First, I examined their internationalization strategies

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based on the four types of internationalization strategies proposed by Van der Wende et

al. (2005), which I employed as a part of the conceptual framework for this study. As

described in the previous section, all three studied universities adopted a competitive

strategy to become global players.

Further, examination of the trends of their internationalization strategies and the

interview data of key actors in the internationalization process across the three

universities revealed that two additional approaches to internationalization should be

considered to develop a deliberate internationalization strategy. The first approach

concerns the scale of internationalization while the second approach concerns the

orientation of internationalization.

Developing a deliberate internationalization strategy is an essential step, but this

study found that the internationalization agenda is located within a larger view of

institutional planning which impacted their ability to recognize their internationalization

activities in the university community. This issue is also discussed at the end of this

chapter.

Two Approaches to Develop an Internationalization Strategy

This study found that a deliberate internationalization strategy can be developed

with consideration of two additional modes: the scale and the orientation of

internationalization in addition to the goal of internationalization. The scale of

internationalization refers to what extent universities promote internationalization

activities. This study identified two models: international mobility and the development

of the university as an entirely international community with internationally diverse staff

members and internationalized curricula beyond student mobility programs. The

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orientation of internationalization refers to the primary concern of internationalization.

This study identified three models: institution-oriented, researcher-oriented, and student-

oriented approaches.

Scale of Internationalization: From International Mobility to Development of the

University as an International Community

In the internationalization strategy, internationalization was discussed in the

context of increasing competition in the global higher education market. The ultimate

goal was to become a world-class university even though there were differences in the

scope of what could be considered a world-class university among the three universities.

To achieve the ultimate institutional goal, five objectives of internationalization were

identified across the three cases. The five objectives were (1) developing international

partnerships and networks at the institutional level, (2) recruiting bright, talented

international graduate students and young researchers, (3) promoting international

learning opportunities for domestic students, (4) branding the university internationally,

and (5) establishing an administrative system for international activities. The five

objectives with initiatives are listed in Table 35. The details of the initiatives were

already discussed in the individual case chapters above.

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Table 35. Main Objectives and Initiatives of Internationalization at Three Studied Universities Objectives

Initiatives

Developing international partnerships and networks at the institutional level

• Strategic alliance with the institutional interests including staff and student mobility, curriculum development, international academic opportunities at home (e.g., seminars, symposia and conferences), and joint research initiatives (e.g., academic-industry collaboration and international development cooperation projects)

• International networks/consortia Recruiting bright, talented international graduate students and young researchers

• Graduate programs with English as the language of instruction

• Double degree graduate programs • Institutional system to identify and support distinctive

research projects • Alternative hiring system for researchers

Promoting international opportunities for domestic students

• Short-term study abroad programs • Double degree graduate programs • Reform of English language curriculum

Branding the university internationally

• International public relations • Development of online repository of research and education

results by the university’s faculty members Establishing an administrative system to promote international activities

• Increase in senior administrative leadership � Emphasis on establishing a scheme to obtain competitive

government funds • Establishment of a university-wide strategic planning office

for internationalization (International Strategic Headquarters (ISH))

• Reorganization of administrative support units related to international exchange activities

• Staff development in international skills � Development of positions of specialists in international

exchange and education � Staff training in international skills � Contract or temporary workers with English language

skills • Some institutional funds for international activities • Overseas offices

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The findings from the analysis on the internationalization strategy and the

implemented main initiatives across the three universities revealed that

internationalization activities were aimed largely at promoting international mobility of

staff and students. However, the internationalization activities included not only

international academic programs and projects, but also efforts to change the university

system. The three universities implemented initiatives to change their infrastructure,

academic procedures, and administrative systems to accommodate the international

population as well as to be more compatible and interactive with foreign universities.

These efforts moved the universities toward a more internationally oriented status, but

there was limited discourse in the internationalization strategy on hiring internationally

diverse regular staff members and internationalizing the curriculum beyond student

mobility programs. These two areas were often identified as future agenda items for

internationalization across the studied universities with the notion of developing a truly

internationalized university.

To establish centers of global excellence, the three universities have a desire to

increase the number of international faculty members, especially recognizing the current

small number that accounts for less than 5% of the total faculty numbers. All three

universities began recruiting talented young researchers internationally with the primary

role of conducting research by implementing alternative employment systems such as

contract-based employment and a system of performance-based annual salaries. Although

the implemented alternative employment system can increase the number of

internationally diverse researchers, some interviewees discussed the limited impact. The

number of international scholars is limited since the financial source for employment

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relies largely on special research projects with external funds. Moreover, how the

alternative employment could impact the university’s ability to internationally diversify

regular faculty members is still uncertain due to the challenges of recruiting international

scholars as regular faculty members in a non-Anglophone country.

Among the various challenges, the language issue was identified as a real barrier

to increasing international faculty. The language of instruction at the three studied

universities is Japanese except for a small number of courses and international graduate

programs specially prepared for international students. Over 90% of the students are

domestic students who generally do not have enough English proficiency to take classes

in English. When regular faculty members are expected to fulfill three duties including

research, teaching, and administration, international scholars without Japanese language

skills are limited in teaching and administration in the current environment of the

universities. Although the recent initiative to hire international faculty members with

research as their main duty was a way to increase the international faculty population, the

issue of international faculty as regular faculty members needs to be discussed in light of

the student profile and an internationalized curriculum in which English is adopted as the

language of instruction. One faculty member’s comments clearly made this point:

To increase the number of [international] faculty members, the curriculum has to change. It is because the question is what they teach. Then, the next question is how we can increase the number of courses instructed in English. The issue of international faculty members needs to be linked to a discussion on the curriculum. If not, an increase in international faculty doesn’t mean anything (34-84).

A few faculty members claimed that the issue of international faculty members is

beyond an institutional issue. One interviewee stated that the issue needs to be discussed

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in light of a government policy on future human resources in Japanese society in relation

to the immigration policy:

…The most important thing is to diversify staff members including faculty members and administrative support staff members, but it is most difficult to do….Who will translate at the faculty meetings? Who will teach the system of a mutual-aid association in English? How about portability of pension? In the first place, individuals from foreign countries might not stay in Japan forever….There are many issues. Therefore, it is most difficult. I would like to say that it is easier to receive immigrants. Without a policy on immigration, they are individuals who will go back to their own countries someday. They have a temporary visa. Therefore, many issues will occur. Therefore, we have to receive them as immigrants….We [Japanese society] cannot survive without receiving immigrants. My conclusion is to increase intellectual immigrants as advanced human resources….[If] we want them to emigrate to Japan and to live in Japan, we have to give them some incentives. It is impossible [to diversify staff members] if only the universities try to change (36-78-79).

The second issue was internationalization of the curriculum. By examining

interview data across the three universities, education was identified as priority in the

future institutional internationalization efforts. Moreover, by examining the current

educational initiatives, it was evident that internationalization of education focused

largely on study abroad opportunities such as programs for international students to study

in Japan and programs for domestic students to study abroad rather than focusing on

curriculum reform with the objectives of international/global learning as well as

intercultural competence at the institutional level.

Some interviewees at Old Teikoku University and Tanka University pointed to an

organizational factor that could explain why the discourse on internationalization of the

curriculum is limited to the initiatives to increase student mobility in their

internationalization strategies. One faculty member gave an example of the impact of the

systemic boundary on the extent to promote internationalization of education:

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…The areas of activities are bounded based on [the roles] of the executive vice presidents. It is complicated since the Executive Vice President for Education and Student Support is different from the Executive Vice President for International Affairs….Then, they try not to invade each other’s area. For example, there is MEXT’s [grant] program such as Gendai GP [Good Practice]21....When we planned to apply for the program by including international student support in [general] student support and by placing international exchange [in the proposal], we ended up eliminating such a part [related to international exchange] because we were afraid of being criticized that the proposal is beyond the area….We cannot promote internationalization without changing such a system (12-185).

This faculty member discussed the reality that the issue of international students extends

over both areas of education and international affairs; however, the structure of the

university governance affected development of an educational program, which ended up

removing the international issue. This incident indicates the gap between the holistic

nature of internationalization and subdivided structure of the university governance.

Another faculty stated, “If all vice presidents promote international exchange, they would

invade each other’s territories” (33-28).

Another faculty member brought another example of how an issue of

internationalization can extend over two areas: education and research by characterizing

internationalization as being horizontal, not vertical. He also described the gap of the

reality of internationalization and the university governance.

…The difficulty in internationalization is that internationalization cannot be [classified] into research and education. It is an umbrella [agenda]. In other words, it is horizontal. It is a dimension. It is not vertical….[In the future vision for research], the matter of internationalization was discussed quite a bit including how many international students should be secured, and to do so, what should the university do and change? Various suggestions [on internationalization] were made. It might be beyond the area of research, but we eagerly proposed it….If I describe it in a Japanese way, well, it is a little bit sticking out or stepping over

21 Good Practice (GP) programs are MEXT’s grants to advance the quality of education at Japanese universities.

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the line. The nail that sticks out might get hit [A tall tree might catch too much wind], but we proposed it…(36-32).

Another faculty member clearly noted that the nature of internationalization is a

holistic agenda for the entire university; however, the system of the university

governance is based on the main university functions such as research, education, service

and administration. It presents a challenge of determining how to make the

internationalization strategy effective by overcoming the systemic boundaries:

…The national universities are a vertically divided community [system]. Every [activity] is divided vertically: educational activities under the Executive Vice President for Education, research activities under the Executive Vice President for Research, and administrative activities under the Executive Vice President for Administration. The internationalization strategy needs to be linked horizontally. It is not significant unless it covers the whole university’s [functions], but it is difficult to do this. Although many universities established an International Strategy Headquarters, the reason why it is still far from a driving force is the issue of the system of [the universities] (34-28).

These comments from the interviewees captured the challenge of developing a

holistic picture of the internationalization strategy beyond the issue of international

exchange and mobility. The gap between the holistic nature of internationalization and

the subdivided governance system gave an explanation for the internationalization of the

curriculum being limited to the international student mobility issues.

The limited effort to internationalize the curriculum could be further explained by

the institutional focus on research rather than on education. Examination of the dominant

coalition for the internationalization strategy, which is discussed in detail later, provided

some evidence. Chairs of the dominant coalition tend to be the Executive Vice President

for Research. Both Old Teikoku University and Tanka University do not have an

Executive Vice President for Education as members of the dominant coalition although

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Old Teikoku University has a Vice President for International Student Exchange and

Tanka University has an Assistant to the Executive Vice President for Education as

members. Fukugo University has the largest number of senior leaders as members of the

dominant coalition including the Executive Vice President for Education. This finding

raised an important issue about the development of the administrative system to deal with

the holistic nature of internationalization related to the vertical governance system. This

issue needs further exploration.

Orientation of Internationalization: Institution-, Researcher- and Student-Oriented

Approaches

At all studied universities, international recognition and standing are perceived as

salient institutional motivations for internationalization compared to past academic,

cultural and political reasons. The current rationale included academic reasons such as

integrating an international dimension into research and education and enhancing the

quality of their research and education, along with political and cultural reasons such as

increasing their ability to make international contributions and develop mutual

understanding. Furthermore, due to the changing landscape of higher education, all

studied universities are making efforts to develop their own identities as leading research-

oriented Japanese national universities in the international higher education context. The

increasing awareness of the emerging global markets of higher education and being the

main targets of the current university reform encouraged the studied universities to focus

on the objective to increase their international competitiveness.

Many interviewees recognized the increasing importance of the emerging

institution-oriented rationale at their institutions, but they did not seem to realize its full

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essence since they referred to it only as “an official viewpoint.” The institution-oriented

rationale seemed to be too abstract to produce a deeper meaning among the institutional

members. At the level of individual institutional members, the interviewees presented

two main reasons for internationalization across the three universities. One type of

motivation is researcher-oriented while the other type is student-oriented.

As repeatedly found in the individual case study findings, internationalism is

understood to be an inherent characteristic of a researcher-oriented university.

Internationalization is perceived as promoting international academic exchange activities

that has become a necessary dimension of the institutional activities. This type of

motivation for internationalization is researcher-oriented rather than institution-oriented

since international academic exchange activities are perceived as being linked to

individual scholarly interests to enhance their study. One faculty member talked about his

colleagues’ purpose for internationalization, “…if you ask faculty members walking

around, the most innocent answer would be that international exchange is useful for

research…” (18-22).

Many interviewees claimed that a motivation for internationalization based on the

researcher-oriented rationale has been historically promoted by individual scholar

initiatives. However, some interviewees said that this type of internationalization had

recently been promoted further because of a combination of individual scholar initiatives

and logistic support from the central administration due to the change in the scale of

international exchange. A senior leader stated:

…There is a new trend of a comprehensive [exchange agreement]. Our university has an agreement on academic exchange at the institution level with a foreign university. When the universities decide to do something specific and select some

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common [research] topic, then, we need to list faculty members and researchers involved with the topic and think about what kind of team can be formed. Such being the case, one faculty’s initiative is not enough. [The central administration] needs to develop a [logistic] mechanism and provide support to set up the meeting. Once it reaches the stage of research, the central administration needs to provide only additional support. [The central administration] needs to develop a [logistic] system to get to such a point [where the researchers discuss the matters of the research project]…(15-23).

While the historical researcher-oriented approach to internationalization was

further enhanced by the emerging institution-oriented approach, many interviewees

discussed the lack of internationalization based on the student-oriented motivation. This

student-oriented rationale needs to include the provision of international learning

opportunities and an international environment that interviewees did not perceive as

emerging naturally from the faculty members’ interests at research-oriented universities.

They recognized it is an area that requires further direction and support from the senior

administration. Some interviewees at Old Teikoku University discussed the weak

emphasis on a student-oriented rationale due to the strong institutional orientation toward

research (12-56, 111-140 & 119-65). Other interviewees at the other two universities

acknowledged that internationalization of education requires further efforts at the

institutional level (29-8, 34-40, 32-66, & 36-50). One interviewee articulated the point

that the student-oriented approach to internationalization should be the priority of

institutional efforts in the internationalization strategy:

It is certain that we have to do various things simultaneously to promote internationalization, but about education—well, I want our students to have various experiences. Therefore, it is essential for the university to provide a list of various [educational programs]….I believe that it is essential to do something that has a real impact on education. It needs to not be something diplomatic, but something pragmatic. It is because, if they are researchers, they do it on their own. It is not necessary for the university to support them so much. If they need support, as mentioned before, there is money to support their activities at MEXT,

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MOF, or other ministries. They can utilize them, so they can do it on their own. However, the students cannot do it on their own. Therefore, the university needs to support them as an institution (15-22).

The interviewees in this study shared three stakeholders’ perspectives when

discussing approaches to internationalization: institutions, researchers and students. There

was a consistency on how these interviewees perceived the three perspectives for

promoting internationalization, but the following observations were the most relevant.

More recently, the increasing importance of the institution-oriented approach was

recognized among the interviewees due to the changing landscape of higher education in

Japan. This approach became salient in the internationalization strategy. The interviewees

realized that the researcher-oriented approach had always been the norm at the studied

universities. No matter what the university initiated, scholarly interests promoted

internationalization; however, this approach became more institutionalized with its

relevance to the emerging institution-oriented approach. Many interviewees, however,

expressed less emphasis on internationalization based on the student-oriented approach,

which they thought should be prioritized at the institutional level to achieve


Linking the Internationalization Strategy to Overall Institutional Strategic Planning

Besides the development of an internationalization strategy, the importance of

how the internationalization strategy is positioned in a large institutional picture was

identified. Although an internationalization strategy existed, it was difficult for the

strategy to gain recognition by itself unless it was linked to the overall institutional

strategies.

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A theme in the interviews was the challenge the three universities faced in making

the university community understand or even become aware of the internationalization

strategy. Fukugo University made and delivered brochures about the internationalization

strategy and all three universities posted information on the university website. Tanka

University also held two symposia about the internationalization strategy in a globalizing

society. One interviewee at Fukugo University expressed the difficulty of reaching all

institutional members even though they had made an effort to disseminate information on

the internationalization strategy by developing a brochure:

…We made brochures [of the old internationalization strategy] and distributed

them to each college….Of course, we posted them on the website. Then, we

brought it up as an agenda item and reported it at the Education and Research

Council and at other university-wide councils….after all, there are many faculty

and staff members who didn’t know the [old] internationalization strategy. They

said, “I didn’t know there is such a brochure.” or “I didn’t know such things were

decided (22-29-31).”

In the case of Old Teikoku University, only a few individuals mentioned the

existence of the internationalization strategy. When asked about the internationalization

strategy, interviewees referred to it as institutional discourse on internationalization in the

overall University Action Plan instead of as the internationalization strategy.

Discourse on the development of any institutional strategic plan is an emerging

institutional management activity at all national universities in Japan due to their

corporatization, so all three studied universities had developed a formal

internationalization strategy. Old Teikoku University and Fukugo University established

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the overall institutional action plan later, which integrated the internationalization

strategy. In contrast, Tanka University did not have an overall institutional action plan,

but the committees for future institutional planning on research and education integrated

an international agenda by having directors of the International Strategy Headquarters

(ISH) as committee members. Old Teikoku University also highlighted the importance of

the internationalization strategy by linking it to the overall institutional plan, but most

interviewees at the university did not mention the internationalization strategy and only

recognized the University Action Plan as the internationalization strategy. From their

perspectives, the overall institutional action plan communicated the message of the

internationalization strategy to the university community.

Another impact of aligning the internationalization strategy to the overall

institutional plan was to enhance the ability to monitor the progress of

internationalization. All national universities established the first institutional mid-term

(2004-2010) plans and objectives in 2004 according to the government policy. In these

institutional plans and objectives, international exchange was placed as an agenda item

under the objective to improve the quality of education and research. Besides an agenda

item for international exchange, initiatives referring to the international dimension from

viewpoints of establishing centers of global excellence were included in the agendas of

research, education and the governance system. The direct link between the

internationalization strategy and the mid-term plans and objectives enhanced their ability

to monitor the progress of internationalization since the MEXT requires all national

universities to conduct an annual assessment of the mid-term plans and objectives.

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The key issue discussed here is the importance of integrating the

internationalization strategy into other university-wide strategies. Development of a

strategy specifically for internationalization is essential to clarify the institutional

rationale and objectives of internationalization and present a concrete action plan on

internationalization initiatives. However, linking the internationalization strategy to other

university-wide strategies increased awareness and understanding of the key ideas of the

internationalization strategy among the institutional members. It also helped them

monitor internationalization progress at the studied universities.

Selecting Internationalization Activities: Distinctiveness, Accessibility and English

Capacity

The implemented initiatives were examined in terms of two main university

functions: education and research. Research initiatives focused largely on the

establishment of an institutional support system for distinctive research projects, which

was strongly related to the acquisition of large competitive government funding as well

as the emerging institutional-oriented rationale of establishing an international reputation

and a higher standing of the universities. In terms of educational initiatives, efforts were

largely allocated to graduate education with the establishment of more diversified

graduate degree programs such as double degree programs and international programs

with English as the language of instruction, aiming at “degree mobility” (Huisman & van

der Wende, 2005, p. 238). The main initiative at the undergraduate level is short-term

study abroad programs to send domestic students abroad. Although study abroad

opportunities for graduate students also increased, they are more bound to

internationalization of research. Most importantly, there was great effort to improve

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English proficiency among domestic students as an important means of accessing

international academic opportunities.

The issue of the credit transfer system was rarely discussed although at Fukugo

University, faculty members for the international exchange program are making an effort

to promote the use of the University Mobility in Asia and Pacific Credit Transfer Scheme

(UCTS) across colleges and departments. One of the possible reasons for less discourse

on this issue is that the number of outbound exchanges was still small. Another reason is

that the use of a certain credit transfer system is not effective if both home and host

institutions do not operate within the same credit transfer system. To promote a credit

transfer system among institutions in different countries, a supra-national policy like the

Bologna Process in the EU countries would be essential.

A new trend of the institutional efforts on international university branding was

also identified across the three universities. Due to increasing awareness that holding a

domestic prestigious position was not good enough as a leading research oriented

university, the three studied universities became more strategic about their international

standing.

For further understanding of the common trends of implemented

internationalization initiatives for the purpose of strategic planning, two concepts

emerged: distinctiveness and accessibility. These concepts emerged based on the

comment made by a senior leader at Fukugo University who described their

internationalization efforts using two words: yuniiku-na kokusaika [distinctive

internationalization] and ippan no kokusaika [universal internationalization] (21-5).

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Distinctiveness refers to either internationally competitive areas of the university

or its unique fields in the Japanese higher education system. The three studied

universities became more strategic about what made them internationally competitive or

what made them unique among universities in Japan so they could become a world-class

university.

To establish the centers of global excellence, the three universities implemented

institutional mechanisms to identify and support internationally competitive or high

potential research activities. Old Teikoku University established a university-wide

interdisciplinary academic (both research and education) institute to continue the

internationally competitive research projects upon completion of the large competitive

government funds such as COE Programs with an objective of fostering talented young

researchers. Fukugo University established an institutional system to acknowledge high

potential research projects to assist in advancing research projects. Fukugo University

also made the information on all selected research projects available on their website to

enhance domestic and international research collaboration. Tanka University established

an institutional fund to support selected projects with innovative, interdisciplinary or

important basic research characteristics which were strongly associated with the funding

issue.

The implemented international graduate programs (the graduate programs with

English as the language of instruction) and double degree graduate programs reflect the

historical strength or the unique characteristics of the universities. At Old Teikoku

University, both the international graduate programs and double degree graduate

programs were established in the fields of science and technology. Old Teikoku

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University is internationally competitive in those fields. Fukugo University is known as a

leading institution in the field of education and provides the only international graduate

program in education in Japan. The double degree program in global citizenship and

peace reflects the institution’s founding principle. Tanka University is known as a

pioneer of the field of commerce in Japan and established the first graduate program in

business administration with English as the language of instruction.

Finally, the three universities also implemented initiatives to disseminate their

distinctive activities internationally, which included developing bilingual websites and

establishing an institutional repository. Tanka University also established a fund to help

publish scholarly work in English.

Accessibility refers to how to make international academic opportunities

available. The internationalization initiatives related to this concept are largely

educational initiatives. For international students, it is the institutional efforts to make the

university’s educational programs more accessible to them. For domestic students, it is

the institutional efforts to provide them with international academic opportunities.

Although there have been various efforts to modify the educational system including

October admissions and alternative procedures for entrance exams for international

students, the main means of making educational opportunities open to both international

and domestic students is adopting English as an academic language. For international

students, all three universities developed programs with English as the language of

instruction. For Japanese students, English language reform was implemented to develop

English language proficiency as an academic tool. The three universities also

implemented short-term study aboard programs. The most common programs are for

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English language and culture. Overall, the main concern among the three universities was

the domestic students’ low English proficiency, hindering them from being prepared for

the global knowledge society.

Increase in courses and programs with English as the language of instruction,

especially at the graduate level, was largely recognized as the way to further

internationalize education across the three universities with the objective of increasing

student mobility. However, various challenges were discussed across the three

universities. Some interviewees claimed that a limited number of faculty members were

willing to provide courses in English while some interviewees identified the problem of

little institutional support or few incentives for faculty members to teach in English.

Some interviewees admitted that the level of English proficiency among domestic

students was generally not high enough for academic performance. Although there were

various issues at the three universities regarding adopting English as the language of

instruction, there seemed to be an increasing perception that development of more

courses taught in English was inevitable.

The three studied universities made efforts to expand their services and systems to

respond to the growing needs in the international context while continuing to serve the

large homogeneous domestic population with their needs. In other words, the effort to

increase accessibility to international academic opportunities—for international students

to study in Japan and for domestic students to study abroad—was evident. Furthermore,

the selection of internationalization initiatives resulted largely from the competitive or

distinctive aspects of the universities in a national and global higher education market

and their capacity to provide services, particularly English language capacity.

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Top-down and Expertise-oriented Steering Core for Internationalization

All three studied universities developed a systematic capacity to direct

internationalization by establishing a top-down and expertise-oriented steering core for

internationalization. Traditionally, they had a dominant coalition for internationalization

consisting of college representatives. These coalitions enhanced consensus building, but

lacked decision-making power on the direction and plan for internationalization as a

whole university. All three universities established a new dominant coalition adopting a

top-down and expertise-oriented model to increase the steering capacity for


The top-down and expertise-oriented model of the new dominant coalition is

described as an advisory body of experts in international exchange and activities for the

senior administration. The new committee has a clear direction from senior

administration by appointing an executive vice president as the committee chair and the

number of senior leaders participating as the committee members significantly increased.

The rest of the members are individuals who are selected based on their international

exchange expertise, which could be senior faculty members (usually deans or directors)

in colleges or research centers who are actively promoting international exchange

activities, directors of the university-wide units specializing in internationalization

activities, or managers and coordinators of administrative support units for international

exchange.

The establishment of the new dominant coalition for internationalization occurred

in accordance with corporatization across the three universities. By setting the goal of

becoming a world-class university under the current university reform, the senior

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administration identified internationalization was as an essential institutional strategy to

achieve the goal. The government initiative to establish the International Strategy

Headquarters in the universities facilitated the process of developing the steering capacity

for internationalization; however, it may have been motivated internally. Before the

government initiative, the three studied universities had initially attempted to develop an

institutional vision and plan for internationalization. For example, in the case of Fukugo

University, planning for internationalization was promoted under the continuous strong

leadership of the senior administration. The university developed a concrete

internationalization strategy conducting a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and

Threats (SWOT) analysis with a foreign consultant. The former Vice President for

International Affairs facilitated the process to develop the original internationalization

strategy because he was a senior faculty member who had been an active change agent to

promote internationalization. Later, the vice president was promoted to the executive vice

president in charge of internationalization.

The top-down and expertise-oriented model of the dominant coalition enhanced

its strategic planning function; however, it brought a new challenge—to enhance

collaboration from colleges since the decision making process in the new committee was

not based on college consensus. One comment from a faculty member illuminated this

challenge:

[Now,] it has become easier to make decisions on university-wide issues since the [committee] members are not representatives of the colleges’ interests. However, when college cooperation is required, it is difficult to gain cooperation from colleges since the [committee] members are not college representatives. So this is both good and bad. In general, it is getting difficult to gain college cooperation since the university system has become more top-down due to the corporation of the university. The colleges perceive that responsibilities are pushed by the

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top....The vision of the university-wide [internationalization] strategy is considering the university as a whole, but it has not been discussed among representatives from all colleges. I have the impression that [the top administration] set a quantitative target and proposed that the colleges should achieve the target (29-21).

Although the challenge of the new model of the dominant coalition was recognized, the

trend of the top-down and expertise-oriented model of the dominant coalition became

prevalent across the studied universities. This model placed a higher priority on the

significance of the actions rather than on achieving formal consensus. The senior

leadership’s and experts’ perspectives became more important when it came to

establishing an institutional direction on how to promote internationalization as a whole

university instead of promoting just a collection of each college’s interests. By selecting

this top-down and expertise-oriented model, the challenge became how to gain

collaboration from colleges and how to translate the centrally decided plans for

internationalization into action at the college level. The emerging issue is a new agenda

item for further promotion of internationalization. At Fukugo University, an initiative to

address this challenge was implemented. The executive vice president in charge of

internationalization implemented an individual meeting with representatives from all

colleges to incorporate each college’s interests and suggestions into the institutional

planning.

Since the top-down and expertise-oriented model was new to the national

university corporation management, the need for qualitative improvement of the steering

core for internationalization was a problem across the studied universities. The two

identified key issues were strong presidential leadership and a system to establish

continuous senior leadership in internationalization.

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First, there was a high expectation that the president would exercise his leadership

for further promotion of internationalization. The interviewees identified the notion that

the president needs to select internationalization as an essential institutional agenda.

Internationalization seems to be perceived as neither a function of the universities nor the

services they provide, rather as an approach to develop the institutional capacity to

enhance the university functions and services. Thus, presidential leadership is considered

essential for leading the university-wide efforts to bring various institutional aspects into

an international standard.

Due to corporatization, the change in the university administration system also

increased the expectation toward the president’s role in internationalization. In the

traditional national university administration, the university’s autonomy has not been in

the president nor the senior administration, but in individual colleges. To make decisions

on university-level issues, it has been necessary to first reach a consensus from the

faculty councils at each college (Osaki, 1997, p. 153). Moreover, the deans of the

colleges have been representatives of their colleges rather than members of the central

administration of the university since they are directly elected by members of their

colleges (Amano, 2008, p. 140). However, the power of the president in the university

administration increased structurally and by regulations after corporatization. Therefore,

the president’s leadership began to be recognized as a key to gaining a commitment and

collaboration from deans to translate the institutional strategic plan for

internationalization into action at the college level.

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The points made above regarding the importance of presidential leadership in

internationalization refer to the following two quotes from senior leaders at two different

universities. A senior leader at Tanka University stated:

…[We examined] at what level, Tanka University has been conducting research. To what extent did our university achieve internationalization [conducting research at the international level]?….The driving force can be [obtaining the competitive funds such as] Global COE in a visible form, but I understood that internationalization cannot be promoted due to the prominence of some areas. We need to bring out various abilities from various areas [in the university]. Therefore, we need the president’s leadership such as the power to comprehensively bring out [every capacity within the university]…(31-36).

A senior leader at Fukugo University also stated:

…The stance of the president is essential to internationalization. If the president doesn’t like internationalization, there’s absolutely no way. Then, internationalization would not be promoted if the president tries by himself. Therefore, the president’s leadership is very important…We have been able to promote internationalization without concern because we have a president with excellent leadership. That is one of the reasons why internationalization at Fukugo University is good (21-92)…We cannot do anything only with international [units]. Various [international] initiatives can be developed when everyone works together. Internationalization is something like thinking in your head. It is only support [to enhance research, education and any activities at the university.] Therefore, deans of colleges are important. Internationalization can be accelerated when deans and leadership [the president and the senior administration] work in harmony and have great effect on each other. If the deans ignore internationalization, no good…(21-95).

In the case of Old Teikoku University, the presidential leadership was an enabling

factor in the development of internationalization as an institutional agenda. The

presidential commitment to internationalization was expressed in the institutional action

plan, and his support for the development of internationalization initiatives was evident.

Moreover, he directly called two working groups to examine and make recommendations

on the two issues of internationalization such as the organizational structure for

internationalization and the internationalization of education.

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Besides the importance of presidential leadership, further development of the

current system of the senior management was identified by some interviewees. The

concept of the senior administration has been introduced at national universities in Japan

for only five years. While recognizing that the university is “in the middle of the learning

process” (15-32) to implement top-down management under the decentralized system of

individual colleges with a long tradition of autonomy, one senior leader pointed out the

real issue resides in the common understanding of the senior administration:

…Basically, executive vice presidents have the responsibility to carry out [the institutional strategic plans]….The important issue at our university is how well [executive vice presidents] have a good command of the ideas suggested by the Planning Office. As the person in charge of international affairs, the Executive Vice President for International Affairs needs to decide how he would like to do it. Then, he needs to explain [his plan] to the president and share [the plan and responsibilities] among senior administrators. Such kind of operations is necessary. However, it is a little questionable whether the [senior administrative] system is functioning that far. It seems to be perceived as only some kind of shared duties…(15-55). This senior leader illustrated that senior administration positions are perceived as

a shared duty among senior professors as university members rather than as one

professional management position. At the studied universities, senior administration

positions and duties, except the president, are rotated among senior faculty members

every one or two years. Executive vice presidents are full-time positions with a two-year

term of service while vice presidents are one- or two-year appointments that are in

addition to their regular responsibilities of research and teaching in their own colleges.

The senior administrators go back to their former faculty positions after completing their

one- or two-year term of service. The current system of rotating senior administrative

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responsibilities among senior faculty members could limit their perception of the senior

administration as shared duties instead of as professional management positions.

Examining senior administrators in charge of internationalization revealed this

high frequency of change in the positions. At the studied universities, there were two to

three different executive vice presidents in charge of internationalization within five

years; however, Fukugo University had more consistent leadership in internationalization

since the Vice President for International Affairs became the executive vice president in

charge of internationalization. Many interviewees at Fukugo University referred to him as

a driving force of internationalization. Some interviewees mentioned that Fukugo

University historically had a group of senior leaders and senior faculty members who had

been promoting internationalization and the executive vice president had been a member

of that group. This finding shows the importance of having continuous leadership from

the senior administration in the promotion of internationalization.

Besides the issue of the rotation system, some interviews also pointed out the

issue that the national university system structurally lacks professionals to manage the

university in general. A faculty member suggested that the administrative function should

not be fulfilled with academic staff members, but it needs to be run by a different

category of professionals:

...[One of my colleague who had experience in working at a private company] said that she/he has never seen such a large system that doesn’t have management. Without management, direction usually has been given somehow by discussing among many people [faculty members] like a town hall meeting. However, people who manage the university should be different professionals from experts who pursue research and education. As mentioned before, such domains need to be clearly separated….In my opinion, [the university] needs to distinguish between administrators and faculty members (12-210).

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Traditionally, the national university has been a two-layered organization system:

academic staff members and administrative support staff members. Academic

professional22 positions in the American university system never exist as a category in

national universities in Japan, so academic staff members have been fulfilling the

administrative roles along with their research and teaching. The administrative support

staff members support faculty members who run the administration. Moreover, the

decision-making process at national universities has always been on a consensus basis

among colleges since decision-making authority resides in a faculty council at each

college as mentioned above. The faculty interviewee above described it as “a town hall

meeting” (12-210), with many university-wide administrative committees consisting of

only faculty members who have some decision-making power.

Another faculty member discussed his perception of the university management

differences between Japanese universities and foreign universities:

…The management at foreign universities…some of them have PhDs and they also get MBAs. That’s to say, they have [skills] for research and business management as a set. They are studying. It was different in Japan until now….In foreign countries, some people with PhDs are studying management. Unless Japan changes in such a way, we will not be truly global (28-71).

This faculty member recognized the need to strengthen university management at

Japanese universities as he described the differences in qualifications of the university

management between Japanese and foreign institution. Among the management at

22 “Academic Professionals (APs) in American universities are generally salaried (exempt) employees whose positions meet specialized administrative, professional, or technical needs. They perform high-level duties, and frequently have specialized responsibilities in academics, research, or administrative areas.” From the University of Illinois Human Resource Website: Retrieved from https://hrnet.uihr.uillinois.edu/panda-cf/employment/index.cfm?Item_id=502 on July 30, 2009

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foreign universities, some individuals have both research careers and managerial skills.

He indicated that such professionalism in university management is necessary to establish

a global university. Interviewees indicated the need to shift national universities from the

community of intellect to the entity of managing intellect to survive in the global

competitive environment.

In summary, the steering core for internationalization changed from the college

representative model to the top-down and expertise-oriented model. The

internationalization process is now being promoted by the senior administration reflecting

the opinions of a group of faculty members who have relevant expertise in

internationalization activities; however, the implementation of internationalization

activities has become more complex, and better practices are required at the institutional

level. While further senior leadership, especially presidential leadership for future

internationalization, is now expected, the issues of the traditional perceptions and the

rotation system of the senior administration both need to be resolved to institutionalize

internationalization activities in a complex international context.

Professionalization in International Exchange and Education

Two common trends of the emerging professionalization of personnel for

international exchange and education across the three universities were identified: growth

of the units for international relations, and the emergence of new actors to promote

internationalization. At the three studied universities, the amount of international

activities increased and the types of activities were diversified. Some activities have been

driven at the individual college level, department level, or faculty level but some new

activities require more coordination efforts at the institutional level. New educational

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initiatives such as short-term study abroad programs, exchange programs with English as

the language of instruction, and double degree programs were identified as requiring

more efforts. At Fukugo University, new activities in collaboration with the members of

an international university consortium were also initiated by the central administration.

Introducing a new approach to international development projects based on the contract

system and collaboration with a private enterprise also required institutional-level efforts.

To fulfill the increasing task force functions, a university-wide administrative structure

was further developed, and new actors emerged.

The university-wide units for international exchange, including the International

Strategic Headquarters (ISH), administrative support units for international exchange and

the International Student Center were organized as a more unified system or closely

linked system under the direction of the senior administration. The development of a

coordinated central administrative system for internationalization under the direct

leadership of the senior administration increased the institutionalization of

internationalization activities. These activities were structurally recognized as a category

of regular administrative functions within the universities. This new structural

development came with the creation of new positions which resulted in enhancing

professionalization in international exchange and education. The new actors, who fulfill

the task force functions, such as more coordinated efforts to plan, manage and support

internationalization activities, emerged as specialists across the three universities.

These specialists hold different positions and play different roles, which include

international project coordinators, administrative directors for internationalization, and

faculty members specializing in international student exchange and education. Their roles

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and positions are unique in traditional national universities since the personnel system

traditionally has consisted of two categories of staff members: faculty members with the

main role of research and teaching, and administrative support staff members conducting

routine operational business. The newly established positions of project coordinators and

the administrative directors for internationalization are described as meso-level positions

between the two categories since their primary duty is neither teaching and research nor

administrative assistance. Their main duty is managerial as they plan and coordinate the

implementation of internationalization initiatives. The administrative directors take on

further leading and consulting roles with their academic expertise. These directors were

key actors in developing the internationalization strategy at Tanka University.

Another type of emerging specialist is faculty members specializing in

international exchange and education. Although they have faculty status and do both

research and teaching, their essential responsibility is to coordinate the programs and

activities of international exchange and education. The recognition of this type of faculty

position as specialists in international exchange and education is a more recent trend.

The historical development of this faculty position began in the mid-1980s.

MEXT originally established the international student advising faculty position to support

international students in colleges with a large number of international students at national

universities (33-3-6). A faculty member described the diversity of the academic

backgrounds of these faculty members at the beginning. Some faculty members were

hired to provide international students with language and social support. The academic

backgrounds of those faculty included Japanese language, English language, and

counseling. Other faculty members were hired to teach international students the

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introductory courses of their academic majors as the students worked to overcome their

language challenges. The academic backgrounds of these faculty varied (e.g., physics and

technology), but many junior faculty members who just began their academic careers

unrelated to international exchange and education were in this position (33-7). The role of

the international student advising faculty was perceived as an additional task rather than a

primary duty.

Within two decades, the position of the international student advising faculty has

evolved into a specialized position in international exchange and education. The

structural development in international student exchange such as development of a

university-wide center for international student exchange and a unit for international

exchange and education at the college level established expert positions specializing in

the field of international exchange and education.

Although the recognition and professionalization of personnel in international

exchange and education has increased, the institutional position of these specialists is still

in the developmental stage. A faculty member discussed the issue of the institutional

position of specialists by pointing out the lack of expertise in international exchange and

education among historical directors of the International Student Center:

…We need specialized personnel, experts who deal with receiving international students and sending domestic students. In Japan, no college or graduate school is established to nurture such experts. As mentioned before, they need special knowledge such as what does it mean to receive international students? What does it mean to send domestic students abroad? What does internationalization of the university mean? They need to learn such things with statistics and data and be fluent in a foreign language….foreign language skills, internationalization of higher education, international student exchange, globalization of higher education, etc. As mentioned before, to become the Director [of the International Student Center], they need to major in such things and have a Ph.D….Then, those experts need to be able to have direct access to the senior administration and make

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suggestions. We need a system so those experts are in the units that allow them to participate in the final institutional decision-making and think about the internationalization of the university… (22-70).

The International Student Center has been taking on the main role of promoting

international student exchange and internationalization on campus. The historical profiles

of the directors of the International Student Center at the studied universities are listed in

Table 36.

Table 36. Directors of the International Student Center at Three Studied Universities

Old Teikoku University

Fukugo University

Tanka University

1993-1996 Professor of engineering

1990-1991 Professor of education

1996-2000 Center Professor (Japanese)



2000-2008 Center Professor (Japanese)

1998-2001 Professor of medicine


2008- Present

Center Professor (Japanese)

2001-2005 Professor of int’l cultural studies

1995-2001 2004-2006


2005-2007 Executive Vice President* (int’l law)

2001-2002 Professor of education (comparative and int’l education)

2007-2008 Executive Vice President* (engineering)

2002-2004 Professor of medicine

2008- Present

Vice President* (science)

2006-2008 Center Professor (comparative and int’l education)

2008- Present


*Old Teikoku University established the Deputy Director of the International Student Exchange Center. A senior professor at the Center has been in the position since its establishment in 2005.

As is evident from the table, leadership in international exchange and education

coincides with the points made by the faculty member. There are very few leaders with

expertise in international exchange and education. At Old Teikoku University, half of the

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directors have expertise in science and technology. At Tanka University, all directors

have expertise in Japanese language.

Besides the lack of expertise in international exchange and education as their

background, the frequent change of directors was identified as a problem at Old Teikoku

University and Fukugo University although Fukugo University had more stable

leadership at one point. The short tenure of leadership did not assist in developing the

international expertise of leaders nor did it establish continuous leadership. One faculty

member stated:

…I have a chance to meet people who promote international exchange at foreign universities. Those individuals have been in the position for a long time promoting international exchange as their specialized profession. I think that we need such kind of individuals…I don’t know what level of university staff we need, but I feel that we need some full-time faculty members [to promote international exchange]…. I guess that there are very few faculty members specializing in international exchange. Very few. Well, I wonder if there are any. Although I know there are some at the Center for International Exchange, many people there specialize in Japanese language education. Perhaps, we don’t have faculty members [with expertise in international exchange and education] who are leading the overall international exchange in higher positions (16-97).

The issue of the lack of continuous leadership resides in a system in which the

director position is perceived as a shared duty among senior professors. The director is

appointed from senior professors every two years although reappointment is possible.

The professors appointed to be the director of the center tended to hold dual

responsibilities: center director and professorships in their own departments (teaching and

research). That is, the director position is not considered a full-time position. However,

some recent changes were also identified. At Fukugo University, the director position has

been held by the senior professors at the center since 2004 although two out of three

specialize in Japanese language. At Old Teikoku University, the deputy director position

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was established in addition to the director, which has been held by a senior professor

since its establishment in 2005. The Deputy Director is now a full-time faculty position at

the center.

Besides the issue of the institutional position of international exchange and

education specialists, the historical career development of administrative support staff

members became a major stumbling block for the professionalization of personnel in

international exchange and education. The most salient issue was lack of international

skills, especially English language skills, among administrative support staff members.

There was an increasing perception that English is required to operate the international

exchange business even at the level of regular routine business at the studied universities.

To respond to the emerging needs, all three universities implemented two types of

staff development programs. One type of program aims at the professionalization of staff

members in the international context and the other type of program aims at developing

English language skills for general administrative support tasks. Moreover, they began

increasing the operational function of the units and positions specializing in international

exchange by allocating staff members with international skills and English language

skills. The internationally skilled staff were supported largely by newly hired contract or

part-time staff members with English fluency, so they could immediately assist in

operating the business of international exchange.

Although these initiatives were positively received and perceived as a way to

promote further internationalization, the fundamental system issue still remained: there is

a gap between the system of historical domestic career development and the need for

qualified personnel to support the operational function in internationally oriented

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universities. Within a national university system, administrative support staff members

have been hired as generalists for the universities’ operational support in institutions with

very homogeneous populations. However, operating duties for international exchange

activities require more specialized skills that are not commonly required of personnel

who conduct domestic business.

One of the main skills discussed by interviewees is English language skills as

mentioned above. Moreover, the changes in quantity and quality of administrative tasks

of international exchange began requiring more than routine operational functions. These

tasks include coordination skills such as planning, managing, and negotiating in the

international context instead of the domestic context. In the traditional employment

system, administrative support staff members are rotated to different departments every

two to three years. This system nurtures generalists who become efficient workers for the

regular operational tasks and develop a holistic understanding of the particular institution

with a mainly domestic-oriented system. The rotation system rarely nurtures staff

members with specialized skills for a particular field of international relations. One

interviewee stated that the current system needs to change to nurture people with

specialized skills to operate international exchange business:

…After all, the system needs to be changed. There are very few positions as specialists [among administrative support staff]. If you become a full-fledged employee, you are transferred to another department every two or three years. Only two or three years. [Regular administrative support staff members] are transferred every two or three years, and I believe they can only do the level of work that people can normally do in a new department [under the two and three year rotation system]. The type of work doesn’t involve an area of expertise. If we keep running business this way, I don’t think that the level of the university as a whole can improve…It is impossible to internationalize staff members (17-121).

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In summary, the increase in institution-based international activities instead of

individual-based international activities requires new types of employees to coordinate

the implementation of new international activities. The common duties of these positions

are planning and managing the activities in an international context. These actors need to

be either faculty or quasi-faculty members who specialize in international exchange and

education, and these specialized positions need to be located at both the central and

college levels.

The development of new positions began establishing the status of specialists in

the specific field of international exchange and education at the studied universities.

Although increasing recognition of the need for these specialists was evident, their

positions were not institutionalized yet. The leader position of the specialized field does

not reflect international expertise yet. In addition, the current institutional system with

administrative support staff as generalists does not have a career path for administrative

support staff members to function as specialists in the international exchange business.

Matrix Structure for Internationalization Activities

The tasks of implementing the emerging internationalization activities tended to

be more complex because the system requires collaboration among experts from several

departments. Academic departments are the center of international exchanges and

activities; however, the development of international academic programs or research

projects requires not only academic content expertise, but also specialized knowledge and

skills in logistics to establish the programs in an international setting.

The growth of units specializing in international exchange and education was

evident across the three universities. There are different forms with diverse functions to

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promote internationalization. In one form, they are the international educational service

centers at both the central and college levels, and they provide international educational

programs and advising services on social and academic issues on international exchange.

In another form, they are the administrative support units at the central level that

coordinate and support the implementation of internationalization activities. Furthermore,

ISH at Tanka University provides consultation on international exchange and

internationalization issues allocating two directors to ISH. At Fukugo University, an

academic department and a research center in the field of international development are

also important figures in the process of internationalization.

The development of specialized units have not only enhanced the universities’

administrative functions, but also allowed them to adopt a matrix organization form to

respond to internationalization initiatives requiring specialized tasks. Each department is

stored with its specialized personnel. By adopting a matrix organization design,

specialized personnel can share their knowledge and be available for various projects or

departments (Bess & Dee, 2008b, p. 221). In terms of internationalization of the

universities, the units specializing in international exchange need to hire specialized

individuals who help materialize international exchange programs with their unique

knowledge and skills. These units can then make the specialists available for numerous

international initiatives.

The matrix design was observed in the process of establishing new international

education initiatives. To develop a double degree program, both Old Teikoku University

and Fukugo University established a working group. This working group consisted of

faculty members from the graduate schools offering a double degree program, faculty

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members who specializing in international exchange and education, and an international

project coordinator who took on the important role of promoting the actual process.

In the case of the double degree program at Fukugo University, three graduate

programs collaborated to provide a double degree master’s program in global citizenship

and peace which adopted English as the language of instruction. Since English is never

the regular language of instruction in Japan, it would be more challenging for only one

academic department, especially in the fields of social sciences and humanities, to

establish a program in English. Thus, adopting a matrix form to develop the program

enabled them to gather faculty members with English fluency and expertise relevant to

the academic theme from different academic departments.

Another example is the student exchange program with English as the language of

instruction. This program was coordinated by designating one or two faculty members at

the International Student Center who provided courses in English with contributions from

faculty members from different departments.

At Fukugo University, the graduate school and research center in the field of

international development also played a key role in initiating university-wide

internationalization initiatives. Based on these two units that specialized in international

development and administrative support units for international exchange, Fukugo

University has established a university-wide system to promote entrepreneurial activities

in terms of international development. Moreover, a graduate school in international

development and cooperation also coordinates a global internship program for all

graduate students in collaboration with five graduate schools and a research center.

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In summary, the implementation of internationalization activities has been

enhanced by the development of units specializing in international exchange and

education as well as international development. These units are closely or loosely linked

to each other, to other academic departments, and to research centers to provide

international expertise.

Summary

The findings of three individual university cases were synthesized to explore a

strategic model to develop internationally oriented universities. The three exemplary

cases shared five common elements in their process of internationalization to respond to

the changing environment. The five elements are (1) development of a deliberate

internationalization strategy, (2) selection of internationalization initiatives:

distinctiveness, accessibility, and English capacity, (3) a top-down and expertise-oriented

steering core, (4) professionalization in international exchange and education, and (5) a

matrix structure for internationalization activities. These five elements are characterized

by strategic and structural aspects that promote institutionalization of international

activities in the life of the university. Besides identifying these five key elements to

develop internationally oriented universities, the challenges to the development of these

five key elements were also discussed. In the next section, I further construct the five key

elements as they are reflected in the literature.

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CHAPTER VIII: DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the

internationalization processes at universities in Japan. The ultimate aim is an initial

attempt to construct a strategic model to develop internationally oriented universities in

Japan. This study has examined the configuration of organization design, program

strategies, and contextual factors to help meet this aim. In other words, this study has

focused on how these universities have been institutionalizing internationalization

activities in the regular university system to respond to the demands of a changing higher

education environment. In this study, the universities are defined as self-organizing

systems, so that the environment does not direct the structural change of the organization,

but triggers it. The universities, or more specifically a group of decision-makers, could

institute their own direction and actions using resources from the environment as the

suggested conceptual framework for this study. In this final chapter, I interweave the

findings of the five elements of the strategic model with the current literature on

internationalization of higher education as the organizational change and organizational

theory that guided this study. After a discussion of the attempted strategic model, I also

discuss implications of the study and directions for future study.

A Strategic Model to Develop Internationally Oriented Universities in Japan

Three research-oriented national university corporations were selected as

exemplary cases since they have undergone radical changes as organizations towards an

international orientation to become centers of global excellence within the current

university reform. Although research-oriented universities have historically tended to

advocate internationalism from an academic standpoint, in this study, these three

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universities are recognized as products of the nations’ interest. Due to the emerging

global knowledge society, they are in the process of transforming from nation-state

universities to cosmopolitan-nation-state universities or more internationally oriented

universities as Kerr (1990, 1994) suggested.

In Japan, national universities were originally established to respond to the needs

of national development. Their aim was to catch up with developed Western countries

and to modernize and industrialize the nation through two stages of their higher education

system after Meiji restoration and WWII. Facing a global knowledge society, national

universities, especially leading research-oriented universities are expected to be global

players in the emerging global higher education market, so these universities are the main

targets of the current third wave of higher education reform. All three studied universities

set out to become world-class universities to fulfill their role as leading Japanese

research-oriented universities, and internationalization became an institutional agenda to

adapt to the changing global higher education environment. Aiming to become world-

class universities, the three studied Japanese universities are facing how national

universities, which have been systemically bounded and regulated by a nation, can make

their functions compatible and communicable in the international context.

Using these three cases, further insights are gained through an analysis of the

internationalization process that identifies common elements across the three institutions.

A key outcome of this study is the development of an exploratory organizational model

focusing on the strategic and structural elements that could institutionalize

internationalization activities.

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Development of a Deliberate Internationalization Strategy

An internationalization strategy is identified as an important indicator of

internationalization in the current literature (Ashizawa, 2006; Ellingboe, 1998; Green &

Olson, 2003; Knight, 1999; Paige, 2005). Having an internationalization strategy is one

thing, but development of a deliberate internationalization strategy is another.

Understanding the patterns of internationalization strategies assist in developing a

purposeful internationalization strategy. Van der Wende et al. (2005) proposed four

internationalization strategies based on the identified common goals of

internationalization across European higher education institutions:

• Competition for elitism and the achievement of world player status

• Cooperation and networking for strengthening the regional institutional profile

• Internationalization for survival (The recruitment of international students is

essential to institutional existence.)

• Internationalization as a means of improving the institutional profile within

the country (van der Wende, et al., 2005, pp. 220-223).

Van der Wende et al.’s (2005) internationalization strategies were useful to

determine the domain of international activities at the three studied universities. Does the

university aim to play competitively in the global higher education market for an

international reputation or does it want to promote international activities using the scale

of knowledge exchange for mutual benefits with selected international partners? Does the

university need internationalization efforts targeting international students or domestic

students or both?

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The internationalization strategy at the three universities in this study established

the competitive objectives and initiatives, but their approaches to developing

international collaborations tend to be traditional based on mutual trust with extant or

long-standing relationships. Collaboration based on international associations and

networks is still relatively new at the studied universities. The level of collaboration is

still developmental, and its outcome is too early to be discussed. However, the case of

Fukugo University’s participation in a small-size international association depicts the

increase in active international collaboration to develop international educational

programs and internationalize administrative system.

The main criterion used to classify the cases into either a competitive strategy or

cooperative strategy is whether or not the universities perceive internationalization

primarily related to competition in a global higher education league. Therefore, I

concluded that the three universities in this study adopted a competitive strategy although

the scope of being a global player varied across the three universities—Old Teikoku

University aims to be a member of the global elite higher education league while Fukugo

University and Tanka University aim to be globally competitive in their prominent areas.

When these internationalization strategies were applied to the three cases in

Japan, strengthening the regional institutional profile in the cooperative strategy was

unclear. In the case of Japan, it appeared that its regional linkages with Asian countries

were not as strong as those between countries in the European Union. In the European

Union, the regional sphere of higher education is supported by the existence of a supra-

national policy and by cultural and linguistic affinity due to their histories; whereas, in

the East Asian region, just last March in 2009 the first ASEAN Plus Three Higher

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Education Policy Dialogue took place to enhance academic collaboration and student

mobility. In the Japanese higher education context, the regional focus appears to have not

yet materialized. A more concrete supra-national policy and initiatives on the matter of

international exchange need to be implemented to build the regional sphere of higher

education in Japan. Therefore, a cooperation strategy within the current Japanese context

would be better defined as cross-border collaboration for knowledge exchange without

the aim of strengthening their regional identity.

Besides the goal of internationalization that determines the overall domain of

international activities, the current study identified two additional modes for planning

internationalization initiatives. The first mode concerns the scale of internationalization

while the second mode determines the orientation of internationalization. These strategic

modes for internationalization planning were also identified in a management case study

of international activities in six UK universities (Fielden, 2008) although there was a

slight difference in the models of these modes. The following discussion on the two

modes integrates the findings of the UK study.

The scale of internationalization refers to what extent universities promote

internationalization initiatives. The scale does not indicate the amount of international

activities, but the range of different types of internationalization initiatives. For example,

the scale of internationalization concerns whether the universities aim to implement only

initiatives to promote inbound mobility or if they aim to implement initiatives to promote

both inbound and outbound mobility. The current study identified two models for the

scale of internationalization: international mobility and development of the university as

an entirely international community with internationally diverse staff members and

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internationalization of the curriculum as curriculum reform. The extant literature

discusses the challenge of internationalization to move from the promotion of

international exchange or mobility activities to more holistic internationalization

(Ellingboe, 1998; Knight, 2004; Mestenhauser, 2003). Holistic internationalization

includes not only mobility activities, but also internationalized curricula as curriculum

reform, internationalizing staff members, and a well-integrated international population

into the university community. The literature indicates that the two models require

different internationalization efforts in quantity and quality. The current study also

identified the major issues that the universities encounter when pursuing the latter scale

of internationalization.

In the UK study, the model of international mobility was further categorized into

two models: one approach focusing on the recruitment of international students with an

economic motivation and the other one on international mobility with the establishment

of international partnerships (Fielden, 2008). In the historical process of

internationalization, the three studied universities put more emphasis on receiving

international students rather than sending domestic students abroad; however, there was

rarely an economic rationale. Their decision was based on a political rationale due to the

Japanese government policy of increasing international students in the universities.

However, the current study included only particular exemplary cases (leading research-

oriented national universities), so it is important to explore further if this type of model

exists in different types of higher education institutions in Japan.

The second proposed mode is the orientation of internationalization, which refers

to the primary concern of internationalization. The current study identified three models:

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institution-oriented, researcher-oriented, and student-oriented approaches. In contrast, the

UK study found that internationalization strategies in six cases were only categorized into

either an institution-oriented approach or student-oriented approach (Fielden, 2008). The

current study also found that the institution-oriented approach was very strongly linked to

a researcher-oriented approach since international reputation and standing primarily relies

on research products. Due to the introduction of the large competitive government funds

such as COE programs, the researcher-oriented approach has gained more attention in

internationalization at the institutional level whereas historically it has been left to

individual faculty members. Although the association between these approaches was

recognized, they were still identified separately based on the interest of the primary

actors.

Another important finding was that the institution-oriented approach might

increase awareness of the importance of internationalization, but the effect of a buy-in

from individual faculty members might not be expected. This finding suggests that when

the institution-oriented approach is a primary concern, the university should articulate

how the institution-oriented approach is associated with the other two approaches.

The modes and models used to develop an internationalization strategy discussed

above are summarized in Table 37. The various models of the internationalization goals

are not mutually exclusive (van der Wende, et al., 2005); however, the goals could be

prioritized. The scale of internationalization could be incremental from unilateral

mobility, to mutual or multilateral mobility, to international community development. In

terms of the models of orientation of internationalization, all models may coexist within a

university, but one of them tends to be prioritized.

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Table 37. Modes and Models of the Development of Internationalization Strategy Modes of Approach Models Goal of internationalization

• Competitive global player • Cross-border collaborators for academic exchange • Internationalization for survival (internationally compete for

students) • Internationalization for domestic competition

Scale of Internationalization

• Recruitment of international students • Promotion of international mobility • Development of a university as an entirely international

community with internationally diversified staff members and internationalized curricula as curriculum reform

Orientation of internationalization

• Institution-oriented approach: International reputation and standing of the university

• Researcher-oriented approach: Opportunities for international research and collaboration

• Student-oriented approach: Opportunities for international learning and experience

Note: This table is a combination of the findings of this study with an adaptation of the following sources: “The practice of internationalization: Managing international activities in UK universities” by Fielden 2008; “On cooperation and competition II: Institutional responses to internationalisation, Europeanisation and globalization” by van der Wende et al. 2005. The current study found that the three studied universities, which are research-

oriented institutions, chose the competitive global player strategy. Their scale of

internationalization was the promotion of international mobility. In terms of the

orientation of internationalization, the institutional-oriented approach was prioritized,

giving support to the researcher-oriented approach. Consideration of the student-oriented

approach tended to be related to its relevance to research.

Finally, the development of a strategy specifically for internationalization is

essential to clarify the institution’s rationale and objectives of internationalization and

present a concrete action plan on internationalization initiatives. In other words, it guides

the implementation of internationalization. A study on internationalization plans in 31

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U.S. universities found that a strategy specifically for internationalization seemed to

promote the implementation of internationalization initiatives in multiple units across the

university and even nurture an internationalization ethos on campus (Childress, 2009, p.

295).

The current study also observed that a strategy specifically for internationalization

enhanced the implementation process of internationalization initiatives; however, the key

mechanism of success of an internationalization strategy was to link it to other university-

wide strategies. Integration of the internationalization strategy into overall university-

wide strategies increased awareness and understanding of the key ideas of the

internationalization strategy among the institutional members. It also enhanced

monitoring of the internationalization process at the studied universities. Fielden (2008)

suggested that the coordination of an internationalization strategy with other institutional

strategies under the senior administration is a key to having a comprehensive

internationalization strategy embedded across the entire university (p. 17). Table 38

summarizes institutional planning for an integrated and congruent internationalization

process as discussed above.

This study proposes three modes for strategic planning for internationalization:

the goal, scale and orientation of internationalization. The goal of internationalization

assists in determining the domain of international activities. The scale of

internationalization assists in planning the extent to which the universities will or can

promote internationalization. The orientation of internationalization assists in considering

how internationalization can benefit institutional actors while identifying the prioritized

intention of internationalization. Furthermore, international strategic planning needs to be

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a part of university-wide institutional planning. The level of integration affects the

dissemination of the notion of internationalization in the university as well as the

assessment of its progress.

Table 38. Integrated International Strategic Planning Types of Planning Documents

Roles of Planning Documents for Internationalization

Plan specifically for internationalization activities

• Guide the internationalization process with the goals,

objectives and initiatives of internationalization. Institutional Action Plan

• Communicate how internationalization is positioned

as an institutional agenda with the university community

• This study found two ways to present an internationalization agenda in the document:

a. International references throughout the identified agenda

b. International exchange as an agenda Annual Institutional Evaluation Plan

• Monitor the progress of internationalization

Selecting Internationalization Activities: Distinctiveness, Accessibility and English

Capacity

Selection of internationalization activities in education and research is a part of

the internationalization strategy; however, it requires particular attention since the

implementation of selecting initiatives impacts the teaching and research process and

practice. Moreover, it requires a change in the organizational system. The key issue here

is how the three studied universities have expanded their educational and research

functions to respond to the growing needs in the international context while continuing to

serve the large domestic population and domestic needs within a nationally bounded

education system in a non-Anglophone homogenized country. The findings of this study

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on internationalization activities propose three concepts, distinctiveness, accessibility,

and English capacity, which could be useful for selection of internationalization activities

for research and education.

Distinctiveness

Distinctiveness refers to either internationally competitive activities or unique

activities in the Japanese higher education system. Some universities might have some

academic disciplines that are highly ranked in the global academic arena. Some

universities might have a particular field of study or a special educational program that is

rarely found in other universities in Japan. These areas became important centers of

international activities for both education and research across the three studied

universities. It was also found that the prominence of disciplines influences

internationalization activities in European higher education institutions (van der Wende,

et al., 2005).

Furthermore, in the current study, it was evident that central administration’s

understanding and endorsement of distinctive activities impact their ability to obtain

external funds, especially large national government grants, which were perceived as the

main funds for promoting international activities.

Accessibility

Accessibility refers to how institutions can make international academic

opportunities available to both domestic and international populations with the main

objective of increasing international mobility. Accessibility includes not only academic

programs, but also changes in academic, administrative, and personnel systems to make

them more compatible or interactive to the systems of foreign partner institutions as well

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as the “international standard system” which often refers to the U.S. higher education

system. Across the three studied universities, there were changes in the process of

education that helped increase accessibility, including the development of double degree

programs, English-medium programs, short-term study abroad programs, and English

education reform.

Accessibility is a far more complex issue for universities to deal with since the

issue touches both intra- and inter-institutional systems. In general, accessibility indicates

changes in traditional academic systems to respond to the needs of domestic and

international populations so they can be competent in a global knowledge society and

collaborate with foreign institutions. The issue of accessibility is relevant to the

convergence of national education systems in the discourse on national and regional

policies on higher education, so that it involves the issue of national regulations on the

country’s higher education system. Further discussion on the issue of national regulations

is presented in the implication section.

English Capacity

Selection of internationalization activities for education and research is associated

with English capacity which usually indicates the number of faculty members with

English proficiency. With respect to research, in the fields of science and technology,

English is already perceived as the academic language whereas in the field of social

science, the importance of English language skills is increasing due to the emphasis on

publishing in English. Typically, the more articles that are published in English, the

higher the university’s world ranking.

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Although increasing recognition of the importance of English language skills for

researchers is evident, the issue of English capacity is more concerned with the

development of international education programs (English as the language of instruction).

The main objective is to attract international students who cannot enroll in regular

programs taught in Japanese. The provision of English-medium programs depends on

academic departments with more faculty members with English proficiency, and also

reflects the level of the use of English as the medium of research in academic fields. In

this study, it was observed that the fields of science and technology tended to have the

capacity to offer English-medium programs with the existing structure whereas in the

field of social science, it was more common to develop the graduate schools with an

international theme, adopting English as a language of instruction.

There were concerns raised regarding whether adopting English as the language

of instruction is internationalization or not. However, the notion of English language as a

tool to access the global academic community was apparent at the three studied

universities. This notion appears to be a global trend as well. Wachtcher and Maiworm’s

(2008) study reported that from 2002 to 2007, the number of English-medium programs

in non-English-speaking European countries tripled, totaling more than 2,400 programs

in 2007.

The English capacity of staff members also became an important matter to

implement new internationalization initiatives. Although faculty members are the main

actors carrying out international education and research activities, the overall English

capacity of staff members impacts the implementation process of international activities

as the notion of English as the lingua franca for international relations business.

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Careful selection of internationalization activities with respect to the objectives

of internationalization is essential. Furthermore, the viability of internationalization

activities needs to be considered. Three concepts, distinctiveness, accessibility, and

English capacity, are proposed to enhance selection of internationalization activities in a

pragmatic approach.

Top-down and Expertise-oriented Steering Core for Internationalization

To promote internationalization as an institutional agenda, institutional planning

for internationalization has become essential. Universities need to have their own

approaches and plans reflecting their strengths, unique characteristics, and capacities in

both domestic and international contexts. Internationalization or internationality is also

strongly associated with competitive government funding criteria. Furthermore,

international activities now require more institutional-level coordination in accordance

with an increase in the amount and types of activities.

As the issue of internationalization has become more complex, the steering core

of internationalization has shifted from a collegial consensus model to a top-down and

expertise-oriented model at the studied universities. Other studies also identified the

trends of senior leadership and involvement of chief administrators and faculty members

who have expertise in international exchange and education in internationalization

strategic planning. In the UK study, all six case universities delegated the primary

responsibility for the internationalization strategy to a member of the senior

administration (Fielden, 2008, p. 19). The HEIGLO study found that over the past

decade, the size and scope of international offices have expanded, and some international

offices have even been involved in the highest level of institutional decision-making (van

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der Wende, et al., 2005, p. 210). In a study on internationalization plans in 31 U.S. higher

education institutions, a campus-wide internationalization taskforce, chief international

education administrators, presidents, and chancellors were identified as the most

influential participants in the development of internationalization plans (Childress, 2009,

p. 300).

According to R.E. Miles and Snow’s (1978) adaptive cycle, which was also

adopted for this study as the conceptual framework, the effectiveness of the adaptation

process highly depends on strategic choices made by a group of decision makers based on

their perceptions of the environmental conditions and their organizations’ capabilities to

cope with the environment (p. 21). To become more strategic about internationalization

activities, the three studied universities established a decision-making system consisting

of personnel who have the knowledge and skills to assess the global trends of

internationalization activities and explain the implications of the trends for the

universities and senior leaders who take responsibility to develop a coherent

internationalization strategy.

Bess and Dee (2008a) describe institutional strategy results using the

interpretations and sense-making of personnel they call “boundary spanners” and the

decision making of organizational leaders based on the information provided by these

“boundary spanners” (p. 722). In the process of internationalization strategic planning,

the chief administrators and faculty members who have expertise in international

exchange and education take on the role of boundary spanners.

Another important finding related to a top-down model is that there was a high

expectation of presidential leadership. One of the reasons can be explained by changes in

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the institutional administrative system. Due to corporatization, the national universities

are now managed under the president as chief executive, and the power of the president

has become far more salient. Another reason is that internationalization is not the main

function of the universities, but a strategic choice to enhance the functions (education,

research and service) of the universities. Internationalization cannot stand alone, but it

has to be selected by the institution as an essential agenda that needs to be infused

throughout all institutional functions. Therefore, the commitment and leadership of the

president is significant.

Finally, this study provided a potential explanation for the limited approach

toward internationalization of education in the internationalization strategy with a careful

examination of the steering core. The study found that internationalization of education

focused on the provision of educational programs to promote international student

mobility rather than discussing internationalized curricula as an educational reform issue.

Across all three studied universities, the noticeable trend on the composition of the

steering group was that its membership lacked a top senior leader in education.

Furthermore, the selection of the boundary spanners resulted largely from either

international competitiveness or unique characteristics of disciplines or their expertise in

international educational exchange.

A case study on six U.K. universities also found that the six cases rarely had a

holistic approach to internationalizing the curriculum even though it was an agenda in

their institutional strategic plan across the six universities (Fielden, 2008, p. 24). Feilden

(2008) suggested that the challenge of curriculum internationalization is its impact on

every individual academic area; however, its adoption needs to be localized in the context

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of individual disciplines (p. 24). The key issue is how the university can make curriculum

internationalization institutionalized in colleges. In the U.K. study, some universities

assigned leadership responsibility specifically for curriculum internationalization to either

a senior leader or a person in a respected position in the college or program with an

international theme (Fielden, 2008, p. 24).

To institutionalize curriculum internationalization more than provision of

education programs for international student mobility, curriculum internationalization

should be established as a stand-alone agenda and responsibility should be assigned to a

senior leader. Furthermore, a curriculum internationalization committee should be

established under the designated senior leader, and it should include members of the

education committee and experts in international exchange and education. As

Mestenhauser (1998) describes, curriculum internationalization as education reform

refers to changes in existing disciplinary, cultural, and pedagogical approaches. The

goals and outcomes of international education need to be articulated at the institutional

level, and should guide curriculum internationalization at the college and department

levels.

To promote curriculum internationalization requires another committee with

different types of boundary spanners, but it is also an important agenda of the overall

internationalization strategy. Thus, the designated senior leader should also be a member

of the committee for overall internationalization planning.

Professionalization in International Exchange and Education

Paige (2005) identified professional units and staff in international education as

one of ten categories of internationalization indicators by synthesizing the extant studies

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on key elements of internationalization of higher education. The current study observed

that professionalization of units and personnel in international exchange and education is

rising at the three studied universities in Japan. Growth of professionalization in

international exchange and education was identified in several ways: institutionalization

of administrative support units for international exchange as a single regular

administrative bureau office as well as a university-wide center or a college-level office

for international exchange and education; establishment of new managerial positions

(project coordinators and directors of the office for internationalization strategic

planning) specializing in international exchange; and full-time faculty positions

specializing in international exchange and education.

At two of the three studied universities, there was discussion about establishing a

unified international center across staff and faculty unit boundaries that would increase

professionalization. Although the emergence of professionalization in the field of

international exchange and education was evident, this study also found that the

institutional position of those specialists was not yet institutionalized. Symbolic evidence

is that the selection of the Director of the International Student Center has not been

deliberate regarding expertise in the field of international exchange and education. In

addition, the lack of a career path as managerial administrators with expertise in the

current university personnel system was identified.

Mestenhauser (2000) defines the personnel working on international exchange

and education as international education professionals who double as administrators and

educators. Comparatively speaking, the field of international exchange and education in

the United States has matured, and international education professionals are part of a

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legitimate professional occupation. People in the field earn master’s and doctoral degrees

relevant to international exchange and education to become professionals in the field.

Mestenhauser (2000) notes that this profession requires knowledge of various paradigms

in different social science fields for their daily practice. Knight (2004) also identified the

increasing complexity of the field as a future issue for the development of competencies

of academics, administrators, and policy makers working in the field of

internationalization of higher education.

The current study found that further professionalization of personnel in

international exchange and education is associated with a change in the extant personnel

system in the national university system. The historical two-layer personnel

categorization, either faculty or administrative support staff, has not cultivated

administrators with knowledge and skills in a specialized field of internationalization as a

career path. Furthermore, the rotation system that nurtures administrative support staff as

generalists does not help develop occupational specialty nor managerial competence like

planning ability, skills to negotiate with external organizations, or skills to process and

analyze international information.

Amano (2008) discusses the senior administration’s increasing concern about the

lack of human resources with specialized skills among the current administrative support

staff in accordance with corporatization. He cites the results of a 2006 survey on the trend

of finances and management of national university corporations conducted by the Center

for National University Finance and Management indicating that international exchange

is one of the areas in which the responding senior administrators would like to nurture

specialists (Amano, 2008, p. 183).

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Professionalization of personnel in international exchange and education is

essential for promoting internationalization. It is not only an intra-organizational issue to

promote international activities but also an inter-organizational issue to enhance

collaboration in the global context. Expertise of faculty members in the field of

international exchange and education becomes more essential to institutional strategic

planning as well as to the implementation of international education initiatives. It is

important to develop the structure to appoint leading faculty members to appropriate

positions so they can have access to decision making and lead internationalization

initiatives. Such positioning needs to be considered in the international inter-

organizational context.

Development of internationally skilled administrative support staff is another

urgent task. Although the three studied universities already employ internationally skilled

workers, they need to develop a more diverse administrative career system in which

personnel with specialized skills can be nurtured. While the universities need to further

promote institutionalization of professionalization in international exchange and

education, the Japanese government also needs to support to the development of the field

to be internationally compatible. Some recommendations on the government policy will

be presented in the implications section of this study.

Matrix Structure for Internationalization Activities

International activities require extra efforts beyond the traditional functions and

services of the universities. Teichler (2009) observed that many European higher

education institutions recognize that internationalization is implausible without the

extension of services since international activities are more complicated than national

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activities (pp. 100-101). Japanese universities in a largely homogeneous population need

to respond to the growing needs to prepare for a global knowledge society while

continuing to serve the needs of the nation. In the process of internationalization, there

are two demands, international activities and extant activities, which require different

technology for the process of teaching and research. When demands conflict between

flexibility (international activities) and stability (extant activities) of technology, an

equilibrium between the conflicting demands is accomplished by creating a dual

technological core that makes up the stable and flexible components of technology (R. E.

Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 73). In other words, the matrix-like structure becomes efficient

for responding to two different needs because it allows for more temporary units (flexible

components) to produce a particular program or service by borrowing specialized

personnel from regular departments (Bess & Dee, 2008b, p. 220).

This study found that more recently implemented international activities adopted

the matrix design. In this design, individuals were selected from two general locations:

from university-wide units for international exchange and education where unique

knowledge and skills regarding the field of international exchange and education reside,

and from academic departments where the international activities are carried out. As the

scale of international activities becomes larger and more complex, traditional academic

departments alone cannot handle all the necessary activities. The development of

specialized units for international exchange and education increases institutional capacity

to form a matrix structure to implement the various international activities. In the case of

Fukugo University, a graduate school and a research center in the field of international

development also took on an important role to form a matrix structure for international

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activities. Their international and interdisciplinary characteristics enhanced collaboration

with other disciplines to establish international programs.

A matrix design is effective in responding promptly to the emerging needs. One

example is Fukugo University where they established a double-degree program on global

citizenship and peace with contributions from three graduate schools instead of

developing a new department. In the matrix forms, communication is the key to

improving the links across the university system and to encouraging a university-wide

focus (Bess & Dee, 2008b, p. 221). A specialized unit of international exchange and

education could coordinate these links under direct leadership of the senior

administration.

Conclusion

In the era of globalization, universities in Japan face the challenge of being

characterized as both national and international. They are regulated within the national

higher education system but they are under the influence of the emerging global higher

education market. In accordance with a global knowledge society and rapidly decreasing

population, their academic system and environment needs to be developed to help the

domestic population become more internationally competent and to attract an

international population. Furthermore, the universities as centers of knowledge are

expected to contribute their knowledge to both domestic and international societies more

than ever.

This study explored a way in which universities can be transformed from

nationally oriented institutions to internationally oriented ones to respond to the changing

national and global environment. By adopting Miles and Snow’s (1978) conceptual

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framework of adoptive cycle, this study examined the internationalization process in

which universities decide on an internationalization strategy based on their own

perceptions of environmental conditions. The adoptive cycle reflects the concept of

morphogenesis in which social organizations move in the direction of differentiation, in

other words, the multiplication of the university’s roles with specialization of its function.

Therefore, there could be variations in the internationalization process among the

universities based on their individual strategies. I adopted four types of

internationalization strategies: competitive global player; cross-border collaborators for

academic exchange; internationalization for survival (internationally compete for

students); and internationalization for domestic competition, based on institutional goals

as proposed by van der Wende et al. (2005).

This study examined three Japanese national university corporations as exemplary

cases of systematic institutionalization of internationalization activities. Since all cases

adopted a competitive strategy, this study was not able to examine alternative forms of

internationally oriented universities. However, the study was an initial attempt to apply

the concept of a typological approach to examine organizational internationalization. The

current study of these example cases contains a large number of international activities

and the transformation of their administrative systems to institutionalize international

activities. This study identified five common elements that helped the three studied

universities develop internationally oriented universities with the objective of becoming

world class universities. These five elements can be initially useful for examining the

configuration of organization design, program strategies, and contextual factors of the

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universities that aim to become transformed into internationally oriented universities with

different objectives of internationalization.

Implications of Study

This study offers implications for policies on the internationalization of higher

education in Japan. It is evident that the historical trend of internationalization in higher

education has been driven by the Japanese government’s policy. Although the

universities were encouraged to have their own direction and plans for

internationalization in accordance with the current university reform, their

internationalization activities relied largely on government grants. National government

policies are highly relevant to promoting further internationalization at universities. The

findings highlighted several issues related to promoting further internationalization.

Three recommendations are proposed from the identified issues: curriculum

internationalization, support for further specialists, and changing regulations.

Gap in the Government Policy on Internationalization: International Education

The issue of less effort being put into internationalization of the curriculum was

often identified across the studied universities. Historically, the government policies on

internationalization of education have largely focused on increasing access to

international students, in other words, increasing degree mobility, rather than providing

international education for domestic students. Under the current university reform, the

government has increased educational initiatives with an international characteristic as

the criteria. However, these initiatives such as Good Practice Programs tend to target

graduate education with the objective of fostering individuals with advanced knowledge

and skills so they can become competent in a global knowledge society rather than

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fostering education aimed at nurturing global citizens who will live in a multicultural

society. Nilsson (2000) suggests that an internationalized curriculum should enhance

intercultural competence, which “gives students good knowledge about international

relations and foreign culture and measures to make our students motivated (and not

afraid) to work with, understand and even have empathy for people with a different

cultural background” to live and work in a multicultural society (p. 23).

Internationalization of the curriculum has been discussed for many years within

North American universities (Nilsson, 2000, p. 21). It is also important to mention that

the U.S. Department of Education has Title VI Programs specifically targeted at

supporting curriculum internationalization. Although the historical development of

international education is different between Japan and the U.S., it would be more

effective to establish a policy specifically addressing international education in addition

to improving overall internationalization of higher education.

Mestenhauser (1998; 2002) discusses the issue of the current prevalent approach

to international education. He identifies curriculum internationalization as education

reform since it needs an approach that elicits a cognitive shift and challenges the nature

of the curriculum paradigm based on the traditional discipline-oriented knowledge. He

argues that a common approach to infuse higher quantity of the international context into

the extant curriculum structure is not enough to internationalize curriculum. One of the

interviewees expressed this concern about understanding curriculum internationalization.

He noted that due to the historical development of higher education in Japan, the use of

translated American textbooks is considered to be a part of curriculum

internationalization (36-57) instead of truly internationalizing the curriculum.

319

The issue of curriculum internationalization should not be limited to what

knowledge and skills students should gain, but expanded to how students should

construct knowledge. Mestenhauser (1998) refers to this concept as learning perspectives

including interdisciplinary, intercultural, and pedagogical perspectives. Future

government policy on international education should implement initiatives that encourage

universities to adopt a more holistic approach of international education as curriculum

reform instead of an approach to add international content to the extant curriculum.

Need for Further Professionalization in the Field of International Exchange and

Education

This study found that the role of specialists in international exchange and

education is essential to the further promotion of internationalization of the universities.

However, professionalization of those specialists is not institutionalized within the

universities. Considering the global trend of international exchange and education, it is

important that the government more actively support the development of the field as well

as help nurture international exchange and education specialists.

The lack of international skills of administrative support staff members is a major

stumbling block to the further promotion of internationalization. While it is important to

keep the continuing government program for staff development abroad, the government

needs to consider another issue: the qualifications of managerial positions of

administrative support units for international exchange in the international context.

Professionalization of personnel in international exchange and education is advanced in

the United States. As a norm, personnel in this profession require high qualifications so

directors and assistant directors usually have graduate degrees. Furthermore, in reality,

320

English proficiency is a necessary skill in any business in an international environment.

The qualifications of administrative support unit managers for international exchange

need to be raised to the international standard. Although national universities were

corporatized, the national government still has some control over the personnel issue at

national universities. It is essential for the government to take the initiative to improve

the international competency of administrative support staff members.

Development of the field of international exchange and education is also essential

to nurture specialists. Well-established professional organizations such as NAFSA in the

U.S. and EAIE in Europe have been leading the way for professional development of

international educators. They have provided essential information to higher education

institutions and contributed to the development of policies on international exchange and

education. Furthermore, countries that are leading international exchange and education

have created institutions with a research function to promote international exchange

activities. Some well-known organizations are the Institute of International Education

(IIE) in the U.S., Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher

Education (NUFFIC), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and IDP in

Australia.

Japan also has organizations with respect to international exchange and education

including the Japan Association for Foreign Student Affairs and the Japanese Student

Services Organization. In a global knowledge society, it is important for the national

government to support their activities, especially to strengthen the research function in

the growing field of international exchange and education.

321

National Regulation of Higher Education in the International Context

National higher education policies have exerted strong influence on the

internationalization of higher education in Japan. Across the three studied universities,

recent progress in internationalization was often perceived as being linked to increased

institutional autonomy (referring to corporatization). However, it was evident that the

government continues to play a major role since government grants were the major

financial resource for the current internationalization activities. Moreover, national

government regulations have been a critical factor to encourage or discourage

international activities. Thus, the government should review regulations in the global

context to allow universities to more proactively respond to emerging international

activities in a global knowledge society.

National policies on immigration issues regarding students, graduates, and

scholars were recognized as a significant policy issue impacting internationalization

across the studied universities. Teichler (2004) also identified the increasing importance

of national policies on the same issue in European countries. The immigration issue with

respect to graduates and academics is highly relevant to international recruitment of

talented graduate students and young researchers. Moreover, it is essential to secure

talented human resources for future national development as well as for continuous

knowledge contributions to an international society. Considering the rapid decrease in the

Japanese population, Japan faces a critical turning point in considering what the nation

should or could be.

322

Future Research

This study proposed an initial attempt at a strategic model to develop

internationally oriented universities in Japan by examining findings based on insights

from exemplary cases of internationalization of higher education. These findings could be

a useful tool for other universities to promote their internationalization efforts. This study

purposefully selected cases that reflect the trend of active internationalization, especially

with signs of institutionalization of international activities. This purposeful selection of

cases resulted in the study of three leading research-oriented national universities with a

competitive internationalization strategy aiming to be world-class universities. To

establish further concrete strategic models to help develop internationally oriented

universities in Japan, future research should be conducted with different types of higher

education institutions adopting different types of internationalization strategies such as

the cooperative strategy for knowledge exchange, the internationalization strategy for

survival, and the internationalization for domestic competition. In addition, future

research must include education-oriented universities.

The scope of this study was to focus on holistic organizational internationalization

rather than focus on a specific area of internationalization. However, this study

specifically found that curriculum internationalization should be identified as a priority

issue of further internationalization across the three studied universities. The issue of

curriculum internationalization is an important area for future study. Topics of the study

could include the historical trends of the perception and initiatives of national and

institutional policies on curriculum internationalization, the objectives of the

internationalized curriculum, and institutionalization of curriculum internationalization.

323

The use of English language as the medium of instruction and research is another

important area for future studies on internationalization. This study found that English

language was largely recognized as an essential tool for academic opportunities in a

global knowledge society. Furthermore, graduate programs with English as the medium

of instruction have grown across the studied universities. In the new government

initiative of Global 30, the selected universities are expected to establish at least one

undergraduate and one graduate degree seeking English-medium program. Japanese

universities hope that the use of English as the language of instruction will increase their

competitiveness for international students. Although the use of English as the medium of

instruction and research appears to be inevitable in a global knowledge society, its

consequences are still unknown. Future studies should explore to what extent and how

English could be adopted as the medium of instruction and research at Japanese

universities. Another potential study issue could be not only the educational effect of

English-medium programs, but also the impact of application, dissemination, and

production of knowledge on Japanese society with the use of English.

Finally, this study observed that the internationalization process was driven by a

mix of national government policies on higher education and increased autonomy of

universities due to increasing attention to the internationalization of higher education to

prepare for a global knowledge society. As Teichler (2004) proposed in his

recommendations for future internationalization of European higher education, it is

essential to explore the most effective modes of governing higher education to continue

promoting internationalization (p. 22) while internationalization is still an important

focus of Japanese universities.

324

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APPENDICES

Appendix A: Four Models of Internationalization Components and Indicators

Paige’s (2005) Key Performance Categories Components

Indicators

University Leadership for Internationalization

A. Mission Statement

• The university’s mission statement includes international education. • The university’s mission statement sets international education as a

university priority. B. Promotion and Publicity

• The university has written materials describing international education opportunities for faculty, staff, and students.

• The university president mentions international education in speeches.

C. Budget • The university has a budget for international activities, staff, and

office. D. Leadership Positions

• The university has a cabinet-level administrative position for international education.

E. Promotion and Tenure • Faculty members get promotion and tenure credit for international

activities • Faculty and staff hiring criteria include international experience.

F. Student Recruitment • The international education dimension of university life is used in

student recruiting. Internationalization Strategic Plan

A. Goals

• The plan sets international education goals for the university. • The plan sets international education goals for colleges and

departments. B. Objectives

• The plan sets objectives for the university. • The plan sets objectives for colleges and departments.

C. Inputs • The plan provides budget resources for international activities. • The plan provides staff resources for international activities.

D. Activities • The plan lists specific internationalization activities for the university. • The plan lists specific internationalization activities of colleges and

departments. E. Timelines and Targets

• The plans establish timelines and targets for internationalization.

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Institutionalization of International Education

A. Committees

• The university establishes a university-wide committee responsible for international education.

• The university establishes college and department committees responsible for international education.

B. Accountability Structures • The university has a delegated officer responsible for data collection

and analysis regarding international activities. • The university has a delegated officer responsible for the

achievement of timelines and targets. • The university has a monitoring procedure in place for assessing the

progress regarding internationalization. Support Infrastructure-Professional International Education Units and Staff

A. International Students and Scholars

• The university has an International Student and Scholar Office (ISSO).

• The university has qualified professionals running the ISSO. B. Study Abroad

• The university has a Study Abroad Office (SAO). • The university has qualified professionals running the SAO.

C. International Exchanges, Projects, Grants, Contracts • The university has an International Programs Office (IPO) to support

university initiatives. • The university has qualified professionals running the IPO.

Internationalized Curriculum

A. International Majors

• The university has undergraduate majors that are international in character such as area studies, international studies, and foreign language.

• The university has graduate majors that are international in character. B. International Minors

• The university has undergraduate minors that are international in character.

• The university has graduate minors that are international in character. C. International Courses

• The university has “core curriculum” international course requirements for undergraduate students (e.g., international politics).

• The university has international course requirements for graduate students.

D. Languages • The university has a second language requirement for undergraduate

students. • The university has an undergraduate language proficiency graduation

requirement. • The university has a second language requirement for graduate

students. • The university has a graduate studies language proficiency

requirement.

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Internationalized Curriculum (cont.)

E. Scholarships and Awards

• The university has scholarships and awards for undergraduate students to study abroad.

• The university has scholarships and awards for graduate students to conduct research abroad.

F. Resources • The university has an international education curriculum committee. • The university has a budget for international course development. • The university has a faculty grant program for international

curriculum development. • The university provides faculty release time for international

curriculum development. International Students and Scholars

A. International Student Recruitment

• The university has scholarships and awards for international students. • The university has a recruitment strategy for international students. • The university has tuition waivers for eligible international students.

B. International Student Support • The university has an international student office and advisors. • The university has an arrival orientation program for international

students. • The university has a professional second language program on

campus for international students. C. Integration of International Students into University Life

• The university has academic programs that utilize international students as learning resources.

• The university has co-curricular programs for international students (e.g., homestay programs).

Study Abroad

A. Academic Study Abroad

• The university has study abroad programs for academic credit. B. Work and Tourism Abroad

• The university has non-academic programs abroad such as work and tourism programs.

C. Specialized Academic Study Abroad • The university has academic study abroad programs designed for

specific departments and faculties. D. Study Abroad Requirements

• The university has a number of departments and faculties with study abroad requirements.

E. Exchange Agreements • The university has study abroad exchange agreements with partner

universities abroad. F. Student Support

• The university has scholarships for study abroad students. • The university has pre-departure, in-country, and re-entry programs

for study abroad students.

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Faculty Involvement in International Activities

A. Faculty Support

• The university provides travel support for faculty to attend conferences abroad.

• The university provides funding for faculty to lead study abroad tours and programs.

• The university provides orientation programs for faculty interested in teaching and conducting research abroad.

B. Exchange Agreements • The university has exchange agreements with partner universities that

enable faculty members to work abroad. C. International Grants and Contracts

• The university provides release time for faculty to work on international grants and contracts.

• The university provides release time for faculty to work on university-sponsored development assistance projects.

Campus Life/Co-Curricular Program

A. Campus Life Office

• The university has a Campus Life Office responsible and the international aspects of campus life is among its responsibilities.

B. Student Organizations • The university has student organizations with an international focus

(e.g., nationality clubs). • The university provides funding for student organizations to support

international activities. C. Campus Programs

• The university offers international and intercultural programs on campus.

• The university offers international leadership opportunities for students.

• The university has a Career Development Center with international job placements and advising.

• The university has residence facilities where international and domestic students can live together.

• International cuisine is served in the cafeteria. • There is an international lounge for informal interactions with

international students. Monitoring the Process

A. Performance Assessment Process

• The university has a formal performance assessment process in place. • The university has designed officers for performance monitoring.

B. Performance Indicators • The university has developed performance indicators for

internationalization. C. Performance Reviews

• The university holds annual internal performance reviews of internationalization activities.

• The university conducts external reviews of its internationalization activities every 5 to 10 years.

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Monitoring the Process (cont.)

• The university has established a performance-reporting timetable. • The university has a governance structure responsible for reviewing

the annual reports, making suggestions for future activities, and making suggestions for revisions of the strategic plan.

From “Internationalization of higher education: Performance assessment and indicators” by Paige, 2005, pp. 116-122. Nagoya Koutou Kyouiku Kenkyu, 5.

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Knight & de Wit’s (1999) Institutional Level Program and Organization Strategies

Program Strategies Components Indicators

Academic Programs

• Student exchange program • Foreign language study • Internationalized curricula • Area or thematic studies • Work/study abroad • International students • Teaching/learning process • Joint/double degree programs • Visiting lectures and scholars • Link between academic programs and other strategies

Research and Scholarly Collaboration

• Area and theme centers • Joint research projects • International conferences and seminars • Published articles and papers • International research agreements • Research exchange programs • International research partners in academic and other sectors

External Relations: Domestic and Cross-border

Domestic: • Community-based partnerships with NGO groups or public/private sector

groups • Community service and intercultural project work • Customized education and training programs for international partners

and clients Cross-borders: • International development assistance projects • Cross-border delivery of education programs (commercial and non-

commercial) • International linkages, partnerships, and networks • Contract-based training and research programs and services • Alumni abroad programs

External-curricular

• Student clubs and associations • International and intercultural campus events • Liaison with community based cultural and ethnic groups • Peer support groups and programs

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Organizational Strategies

Components Indicators Governance

• Expressed commitment by senior leasers • Active involvement of faculty and staff • Articulated rationale and goals for internationalization • Recognition of international dimension in institutional mission/mandate

statements, and in planning, management and evaluation policy documents Operations

• Integrated into institution-wide and department/college level planning,

budgeting and quality review systems • Appropriate organizational structures • Systems (formal and informal) for communication, liaison and co-

ordination • Balance between centralized and decentralized promotion and management

of internationalization • Adequate financial support and resource allocation systems

Services

• Support from institution-wide service units—i.e., student housing,

registrar, fundraising, alumni, information technology • Involvement of academic support units—i.e., library, teaching and

learning, curriculum development, faculty and staff training, research services

• Student support services for incoming and outgoing students—i.e., orientation programs, counseling, cross-cultural training, visa advice

Human Resources

• Recruitment and selection procedures which recognize international

expertise • Reward and promotion policies to reinforce faculty and staff contributions • Faculty and staff professional development activities • Support for international assignments and sabbaticals

From “Internationalization: Concepts, complexities and challenges” by Knight, 2006, pp. 221-222. In J. J. F. Forest & P. G. Altbach (Eds.), International handbook of higher education. the Netherlands: Springer.

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Ashizawa’s (2006) Internationalization Indicators Components

Indicators

Mission, Goals, and Plans of the University

• Official statements regarding the internationalization of the university • Responsible administrative structures • Establishment of medium- and long-term plans and strategic goals

Structures and Staff

• Decision-making structures and processes for internationalization

policies • Organizational structures for operation • Professional development and performance review in the area of

internationalization • Institutional accountability

Budgeting and Implementation

• Budgeting structure for departments involved in international activities • Budgeting and performance

International Dimension of Research Activities

• Achievements in research presentation • International development of research activities

A Support System, Information Provision and Infrastructure (entrance examination, education, housing, multi-lingual aspects and the environment)

• A support system for international researchers and students including

correspondence responding to inquiries from overseas, recruitment and admission system, and support to facilitate international students and scholars’ academic activities on campus

• Daily support for international students and researchers including housing, support for social and cultural adaptation, and multi-cultural and multi-lingual information provision

Multifaceted Promotion of International Affiliation

• Inter-university affiliation • Overseas offices • Linkages with international exchange in the local community

Internationalization of the University Curriculum

• Language programs • General academic programs (liberal arts program excluding language

program) • Internationalization of specialized education

Joint Programs with Eternal Organizations (academic exchanges, internships and others)

• General issues regarding international programs: availability of academic

exchange programs and transferability of credits earned oversea • Evaluation of educational exchange programs • Evaluation of joint programs with other universities • Development of new programs

From “The process of developing evaluation indicators” by Ashizawa, 2006, pp. E137-E149. In N. Furushiro (Ed.), Developing evaluation criteria to assess the internationalization of universities: Final report. Osaka: Osaka University Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research Project.

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JSPS’s (2007) Nine Items for Internationalization Model

1. Governance and organizational structure

2. Goals, plans and evaluation system

3. Access to outside funding

4. Establishment of international university cooperation and consortium

5. International research projects

6. Staff Development

7. International researcher

8. Increase in international research and educational opportunities for Japanese

young scholars From “Daigaku kokusai senryaku honbu kyouka jigyou: Daigaku no sugureta kokusaitenkai moderu ni tsuite (chukan houkoku) [Strategic fund for establishing International headquarters in university: Models for internationalizing universities (midterm report)]” Tokyo, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 2007, p. 7.

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Appendix B: Internationalization Initiatives Proposed by MEXT between 1983 and 2003

Central Government (MEXT) Universities College Leadership • Corporatize national universities

(2004)

• Establish a system to promote internationalization under the president’s leadership

• Include the internationalization efforts into evaluation items

• Hire foreign faculty members • Hire new staff members with

international experience and foreign language competency

• Secure professional staff for international exchange

• Develop systematic units to support international students -Establish Center for International

Students • Improve function of information

distribution -Develop university website to provide substantial information on education and research at the university

-Provide information in multiple languages including English

International Students

a) Internationalized Education System

• Review admission procedures to enable international students to participate in the entrance selection process before arriving in Japan

-Administer Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) overseas (2002)

-Conduct entrance examinations overseas -Adopt Admissions Office entrance selection

• Consider September admission • Reduce hindrances for international students to receive a doctoral degree

-Offer programs instructed in English -Give an option to write a thesis in a foreign language -Consider Japanese language as an option for a foreign language requirement

• Develop programs responding to the need of international students -One year graduate program -Graduate programs partially or entirely instructed in English -Programs with internship requirements -Programs in which students could receive dual degrees from both a Japanese university and a university at home country.

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International Students (cont’) a) Internationalized

Education System (cont.)

• Promote short-term study abroad programs

-Participate in UMAP (1991) -Short-Term Student Exchange

Promotion Program (1994) -Academic Frontiers Student Exchange Promotion Program (2002)

-Establish Japanese Student Service Organization (2003)

-Develop short-term educational programs in English as the main instruction language

-Establish exchange agreements with foreign universities adopting a tuition waiver system

-Develop credit transfer scheme: utilize UCTS

• Establish the systems to provide sufficient information regarding international student exchange -Improve Association of International Education, Japan (1983) -Establish Japan Student Service Organization (JASSO) (2003)

-Hold Japan Education Fairs outside Japan with Japanese universities

b) Internationalized Education System

• Promote Japanese language education abroad

• Train and secure Japanese language teachers

• Establish a structure to teach Japanese as a foreign language

c) Academic Support

• Implement a tutoring system • Hire foreign faculty members • Hire new faculty with international

experience and foreign language competency

d) Financial Support

• Provide Japanese Government Scholarships -Create a new government scholarship program: Young Leaders Program (2001) to support privately financed international students who are currently studying at Japanese universities, have good grade and financial difficulties.

• Provide scholarship to privately financed international students who have good grades and have financial difficulties (2002) -Honors Scholarships for Privately Financed Foreign Students (JASSO)

• Provide subsidies to national and private universities and junior colleges which applied tuition reduction or exemptions to their international students (2002)

• Implement Teaching Assistance system

• Develop an institutional financial support system

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International Students (cont.)

d) Financial Support (cont.)

• Provide inexpensive accommodations to international students -Construct international student

residences for national universities (7,069 as of 2003)

-JASSO provides financial incentives to increase accommodations for international students (1,724 as of 2004)

-Ryuugakusei Shien Kyooryoku Suisin Kyookai promotes the program to allow international students to live in private coop dormitories for their employees with inexpensive rent.

e) Social and Cultural Adjustment Support

• Organize local committee for promotion of international exchange with local universities as a leader

• Japanese Educational Exchanges and Services provides Comprehensive Renters for Foreign Students Studying in Japan

• Cooperate with local government, local communities and private organizations to create safe and sociable environment to promote mutual understanding between Japanese residents and international students

Student Mobility (Outbound)

• Promote short-term study abroad program

-Participate in UMAP (year) -Short-Term Student Exchange

Promotion Program (outbound) (1994)

-Academic Frontiers Student Exchange Promotion Program (2002)

-Advance Student Exchange Pilot Project Support Program (2003)

• Promote long-term study abroad program (2004)

• Provide information and financial support to Japanese students to study abroad - Establish Japanese Student Service Organization (JASSO) (2003)

- Establish JASSO’s scholarship loan (2004)

• Establish student exchange agreements with foreign universities adopting mutual tuition waiver system

• Develop credit transfer scheme -Utilize UCTS

Internationalized Curricula

• Improve the quality of education content and instruction to be internationally competent

• Provide education and instruction methods that are available and attractive to both Japanese and international students

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Faculty Mobility • Create a high quality intellectual infrastructure to promote Japan’s “international intellectual contribution” -Tokyo Academic Park (2001)

Cooperation in international development

• Establish a system to increase capacity to accept international development projects

• Hold sessions to increase understanding of international development activities among the university community including university administrators

• Provide seminars about the process needed to undertake international development projects

• Add international development participation to faculty performance evaluation items

• Develop the strategy of international development cooperation utilizing existing international cooperation research center in the specific field

From “University Internationalization as a Challenge to Globalization: A Qualitative Case Study of Nagoya University” by Watabe, 2005, pp. 168-171.

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Appendix C: A list of MEXT Policies on Internationalization of Universities

Type of Policies

Date of Issue

Policy/Proposal Title Department/Committee

Foreign Student Policy

8/31/1983

21 seeki eno ryuugakuse seesaku ni kansuru teegen [Recommendations about foreign student policy for the 21st Century]

Ministry Advisory Committee on Foreign Student Policy

6/29/1984

21 seeki eno ryuugakusee seesaku no tenkai ni tsuite [Development of foreign student policy for the 21st Century]

Advisory Committee on Foreign Student Policy

7/17/1992

21 seeki o tenbooshita ryuugakusee kooryuu no soogooteki shishi ni tsuite [Comprehensive promotion of international student exchanges for the 21st Century]


3/24/1999

Chiteki Kokusaikooken no hatten to aratana ryuugakusee seesaku no tenkai o mezashite: Posuto 2000 nen no ryuugakusee seesaku [Towards contribution to international intellectual growth and development of new foreign student policy: Foreign student policy after 2000]


12/16/2003

Aratana ryuugakusee seisaku no tenka ni tsuite: Ryuugakusee kooryuu no kakudai to shitsu no koojoo o mezashite [Development of new foreign student policy: Quantitative expansion and quality improvement of international student exchanges]

The Center Council for Education

6/5/2008

Ryuugakusee 30 man'nin keikaku no kosshi torimatome no kanngaekata ni motozuku gutaitekihousaku no kennto [Initiatives for the Plan for 300,000 foreign students]

The Center Council for Education, University Division, Special Committee for International Student Exchange

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7/29/2008

Ryuugakusee 30 man'nin keikaku kosshi [Summary of the Plan for 300,000 foreign students]

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Land, infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, & Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Overarching Policy for Internationali-zation

September, 2005

Monbukagakusyoo ni okeru kokusaisenryaku [MEXT international strategy]

International Affair Division-Committee on International Strategy

University Reform

10/30/1998

21 seeki no daigakuzoo to kongo no kaikaku hoosaku ni tsuite: kyoosooteki kankyoo no nakade kagayaku daigaku [A vision for Japanese universities in the 21st Century and reform measures: Distinctive universities in a comparative environment]

University Council

11/22/2000

Guroobaruka jidai ni motomerareru kootookyooiku no arikata ni tsuite [Higher education in the era of globalization]

University Council

3/26/2002

A new image of national university corporations

Study Team Concerning the Transformation of National Universities into Independent Administrative Corporations

1/28/2005

Wagakuni no kootoookyoiku no syooraizoo [Future vision for Japanese higher education]

The Center Council for Education

International Development and Cooperation

July, 2002

Kokusai kyoiku kyooryoku kondankai: Saishuuhookoku [International Education Cooperation Committee: Final report]

Ministry Advisory Committee on International Development

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August, 2006

Daigaku hatsu chi no ODA: Chitgeki kokusai kooken ni mukete [ODA of knowledge by the university: Knowledge contribution to international development]

Ministry Advisory Committee on International Development

Advancement of Science and Technology

January, 2005

Kagaku gijyutsu・gakujyutsu bunya ni okeru kokusai katsudoo no senryakuteki suishin ni tsuite [Strategic promotion of the international activity of science and technology]

Committee on International Affairs Council for Science and Technology

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Appendix D: A List of Documents

The collected documents for this study are listed below. Specific websites and the exact names of documents are not revealed to protect the confidentiality of the universities in this study. Old Teikoku University

• University Catalog 2008 • Mission Statement • Two strategic planning documents on internationalization 2000 (Declaration of

Internationalization) & 2005 • Two evaluation reports on international exchange activities or internationalization • Institutional strategic planning documents 2007 & 2008 • Mid-term plans and objectives and annual self-evaluation reports 2004-2007 • Website • Brochures on international student exchange • Liberal arts education/general education handbook Fukugo University

• University Catalog 2007 • Mission Statement • Two strategic planning documents on internationalization 2003 & 2005 • Two evaluation reports on international exchange activities and internationalization • Institutional strategic planning documents 2000, 2003, 2007 & 2008 • Mid-term plans and objectives and annual self-evaluation reports 2004-2007 • Website • Brochures on international student exchange • Liberal arts education/general education website Tanak University

• University Catalog 2007 • Mission Statement • One strategic planning document on internationalization 2005 • One report on symposium regarding internationalization • Two evaluation reports on internationalization activities • Mid-term plans and objectives and annual self-evaluation reports 2004-2007 • Website • Brochures and journals on international student exchange • Liberal arts education/general education handbook

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Appendix E: Internationalization Indicators for Document Analysis

Context Factors • What is the institutional orientation?—teaching or research? • What are characteristics of the university?—size, geographic location, predominant

mission, age and subject area offered. • What is the primary vision of the university?—an elite university placed the top of

education hierarchy by recruiting the best students or a mass-market university placed as part of system that increases educational provisions for the mass of students?

Internationalization Strategy • What rationale and goals for internationalization are articulated in the university’s

mission statement and strategic plan? • How is internationalization positioned in the university’s strategic plan?

International activities related with education and research I. Activities A. Research and scholarly collaboration • Area and international theme centers • Joint research/international development projects • International conferences and seminars on campus per year • International research/international development agreements • Research exchange programs • International research grants and contracts • Visiting lecturers and scholars • Published articles and papers at the international level

B. Internationalized curricular at home a. Academic Curricular • Major and minor that are international in character • International course requirements as core curriculum • Courses taught in English • Courses teaching foreign languages • Institutional initiative to internationalize curriculum (i.e., the committee

specifically for curriculum internationalization and resources to develop international curriculum)

b. Extra-curricular • International student clubs and associations • International and intercultural campus events per year • Peer support groups and programs • Liaison with community based cultural and ethnic groups

C. Study abroad (outbound) • Study abroad programs for academic credit • Non-academic programs abroad (ex. internship programs) • Faculties/colleges with study abroad requirements

354

• Study abroad exchange agreements with/without tuition waiver system • International scholarships and awards for students • Adoption of a credit transfer scheme (ex. UCTS) • Joint and double degree programs • Existence of Study Abroad Office and study abroad advisors

D. International Students • A recruitment strategy for international students • Conduct entrance examinations overseas • Adoption of admission office entrance selection • Institutional scholarships and awards for international students • Tuition reduction for international students • A professional Japanese as a second language program on campus for international

students • Exchange programs for academic credit • Study abroad exchange agreements with/without tuition waiver system • Adoption of a credit transfer scheme (ex. UCTS) • Joint an double degree programs • Existence of International Student Office and international advisors

E. Cross-border delivery of education programs • Offshore programs (ex. branch campus, satellite campus, online programs, etc).

II. Change in the process of education and research • International research projects by alternative framework and funds • Introduction of some credit transfer system (ex. UCTS) • Development of joint and double degree programs • Courses taught in English • Efforts to improve the knowledge of English language of both students and staff

Administrative system I. Organizational structure • International strategy office or a campus-wide committee or task force for

institutional internationalization planning • International or international relations offices at central levels • Tasks of these offices: mainly involved in the administration of international

activities or involved in policy-making and actively expanding the internationalization activities in the university

• Organizations of these offices and cross-office/departmental cooperation and networking

• Systems for communicating internationalization activities • Integration of international activities into institution-wide and departmental

planning, budgeting and quality reviews • Efforts for external funding • Financial support and resource allocation systems • International linkages, partnerships and networks

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II. Management Processes • Is the model of decision making regarding the issue of internationalization top-

down or bottom-up? • Have internationalization tasks been implemented in systematic or ad hoc

manners? • Is there interaction between the central, faculty and department level to implement

internationalization tasks? In other words, is intra- and cross-departmental cooperation and networking enhanced?

III. Participants A. Academic and Administrative Staff • Percent of international faculty population to the total faculty population • Percent of international administrative staff to the total administrative staff • Employment practice regarding foreign faculty members • International expertise recognized in human resource policies including

recruitment and promotion • Faculty and staff professional development activities regarding

internationalization • Support/resource for international assignments such as internationalizing

curricula, international research collaboration B. International Scholars • Number of international visiting scholars • Diversity in country of origin of international visiting scholars • Roles of international visiting scholars: only research, teaching a course,

providing workshops, etc C. International Students • Percent of international student population to the total student population • Diversity in country of origin of international students • Reasons for recruiting international students: economic reason, academic reason,

political reason D. Domestic students studying abroad • Percent of domestic students studying abroad • Diversity in countries where they study abroad • Opportunities for domestic students studying abroad to be a resource for

internationalizing the university

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Appendix F: Interview Questions

Organizational Internationalization of Universities in Japan: A Qualitative Case Study of Three National University Corporations

Interview Questions No. 1

A. Plan for Internationalization

1. What do you think internationalization means to your university? What are the ultimate goals of internationalization at your university?

2. How do you think internationalization fits within your university’s mission and agenda?

3. What decisions were made about the internationalization strategies to achieve your university’s ultimate goals? How were those decisions made? By whom?

4. How do the internationalization strategies for your university align with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s (MEXT) internationalization policies in higher education?

B. Specific Initiatives (Education, Research and Administrative Systems) 5. Please list the important initiatives your university has been making to achieve its larger

goals? What areas of internationalization initiatives do you think are the highest priorities? Why?

C. Implementation Process 6. How has your university been implementing the internationalization initiatives? (e.g.,

change in institutional functions, administrative procedures, resource allocations, etc). Have you been involved in the process? If so, how?

7. How would you describe the progress of your university’s internationalization plan from

the beginning until now: excellent, good, satisfactory, not so good? Give examples of what you mean.

8. What do you think has been your university’s main successes and challenges/barriers with respect to the internationalization process? Could you give me specific examples of what you mean?

D. Future Directions

9. What do you think the internationalization of your university will look like 10 years from now?

E. Additional Information

10. Is there anything that I’ve missed that you would like to comment upon regarding the internationalization of your university?

357

日本の大学の組織的な国際化：国立大学法人の事例研究（３事例）

インタビューの質問 No.１

A.A.A.A. 国際化のプランについて国際化のプランについて国際化のプランについて国際化のプランについて

1. 貴校にとって国際化はどんな意味があると考えられますか。また、国際化の最終的

な目標についての考えをお聞かせ下さい。 2. 国際化は貴校のミッションや課題とどのように関連しているとお考えになりますか。 3. 先にお話しいただいた国際化の最終目的を達成するための貴校の国際化戦略につい

てお話し下さい。国際化戦略においてどんな決定がなされましたか。その決定はど

のようになされましたか。また、誰によってなされましたか。 4. 貴校の国際化戦略は文部科学省の高等教育の国際化政策とどのように関連している

とお考えになりますか。（具体的な例をあげてお話しください。）

B. 国際化の具体的取り組みについて（教育、研究、組織構成・機能）国際化の具体的取り組みについて（教育、研究、組織構成・機能）国際化の具体的取り組みについて（教育、研究、組織構成・機能）国際化の具体的取り組みについて（教育、研究、組織構成・機能） 5. 国際化の目的達成のために貴校にとって重要だと思われる具体的な取り組みをあげ

て下さい。また、どんな分野の国際化の取り組みが最も優先されてきたと思われま

すか。それは、なぜだと思われますか。

C. 国際化の実施について国際化の実施について国際化の実施について国際化の実施について 6. お話し頂いた国際化の具体的な取り組みはどのように実施されてきましたか。（例、

組織構成・機能、運営方法、予算・スタッフの配分等に関する変化）また、実施過

程に関わられてこられましたか。もし、関わられてきたとしたら、どのように関わ

られてきましたか。

7. 国際化のプランができてから現在まで、貴校での国際化の進展をどのように認識さ

れていますか− − 大変良い、良い、まあまあ良い、良くない。また、具体例をあげ

て、理由を説明して下さい。

8. これまでの貴校の国際化に関する主な成功とチャレンジ・障害についてどうお考え

になりますか。具体的な例をあげて下さい。 D. 今後の国際化について今後の国際化について今後の国際化について今後の国際化について

9. １０年後の貴校の国際化についてどのように考えられますか。

E. その他その他その他その他 10. 貴校の国際化について、私が伺わなかったことで、何かお話し頂けることがあり

ましたらお願いします。

358

Organizational Internationalization of Universities in Japan: A Qualitative Case Study of Three National University Corporations

Interview Questions No.2

A. Plan for Internationalization


B. Specific Internationalization Initiatives (Education, Research and Administrative Systems) and Implementation Process

2. In what specific internationalization initiatives has your center/office been involved? How do you think the specific internationalization initiatives have been contributing to the larger goals of internationalization at your university? How about the contribution to your university’s mission?

3. What has changed to implement the specific internationalization initiatives at your

center/office? (e.g. institutional functions, administrative procedures, resource allocations, etc). Specific examples would be most helpful.

4. How have you as the person’s position - Director of… been involved in the process of

internationalization? How have you been participating in the decision-making process regarding internationalization efforts at your university? How have you been participating in the implementation process of internationalization efforts?

5. How would you describe the progress of the internationalization initiatives that your

center/office has been involved in from the beginning of the establishment of the university’s internationalization plan until now: excellent, good, satisfactory, not so good? Give examples of what you mean.

6. Do you recognize any prominent progress in any other internationalization initiatives besides

your center/office? If so, what are they? (Give examples, please.)

7. What do you think has been driving the internationalization process at your university?

8. How do you describe the internationalization efforts at your center/office in terms of reflecting on the policies on internationalization of higher education by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)? (Give examples, please.)

9. What do you think have been your university’s main successes and challenges/barriers with

respect to the internationalization process? Could you give me specific examples of what you mean?

C. Future Directions

10. What do you think the internationalization at your university will look like 10 years from now? E. Additional Information

11. Is there anything that I’ve missed that you would like to comment upon regarding the internationalization of your university?

359

日本の大学の組織的な国際化：国立大学法人の事例研究（３事例）

インタビューの質問 No.2

A. 国際化のプランについて国際化のプランについて国際化のプランについて国際化のプランについて 1. 貴校にとって国際化はどんな意味があると考えられますか。また、国際化の最終的

な目的についての考えをお聞かせ下さい。

B. 国際化の具体的取り組みと実施について（教育、研究、組織構成・機能）国際化の具体的取り組みと実施について（教育、研究、組織構成・機能）国際化の具体的取り組みと実施について（教育、研究、組織構成・機能）国際化の具体的取り組みと実施について（教育、研究、組織構成・機能） 2. XX センター・部局では具体的にどんな国際化の取り組みに関わってこられましたか。

お話し頂いた具体的取り組みが貴校の国際化の最終的な目的達成においてどう貢献

してきたとお考えになりますか。また、大学のミッションへの貢献をどうお考えに

なりますか。

3. XX センター・部局で先にお話し頂いた国際化の取り組みを実施するにおいて、どん

な変化がありましたか。（例、組織構成・機能、運営方法、予算・スタッフの配分

等に関する変化— — 具体的な例をお願いします。）

4. XX センター・部局長として、大学全体の国際化の実施にどう関わってこられました

か。大学全体の国際化の決定のプロセスにどのように関わられてこられましたか。

また、国際化の具体的な取り組みの実施過程においてはどのように関わられてこら

れましたか。

5. 国際化のプランができてから現在まで、XX センター・部局での国際化の進展をどの

ように認識されていますか− − 大変良い、良い、まま良い、良くない。また、具体

的に例を挙げて、理由を説明して下さい。

6. その他（ XX センター・部局以外）の国際化の取り組みにおいて何か顕著な進展が

あったと思いますか。（具体的な例をお願いします。）

7. 貴校の国際化の推進力となってきたのは何だと考えられますか。

8. XX センター・部局における国際化の取り組みは文部科学省による高等教育の国際化

の政策をどのように反映していると思いますか。（具体的な例をもとにお話しくださ

い。）

9. これまでの貴校の国際化に関する主な成功とチャレンジ・障害についてどうお考え

になりますか。具体例をあげてお話しください。

C.今後の国際化について今後の国際化について今後の国際化について今後の国際化について 10. １０年後の貴校の国際化についてどのように考えられますか。

D. その他その他その他その他

11. 貴校の国際化について、私が伺わなかったことで、何かお話し頂けることがありま

したらお願いします。

360

Appendix G: Research Design: Conceptual Framework, Research Questions and

Interview Questions

The purpose of this study is to explore how and why three Japanese national university corporations have been internationalizing by examining the configuration of their organizational design, program strategies and contextual factors needed to develop internationally oriented organizations. This study aimed to answer the following research questions:

• Question 1: How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their internationalization strategies? Why?

• Question 2: How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their international programs/activities for the selected internationalization strategy? Why?

• Question 3: How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their administrative systems including organizational structures, management processes, and participants such as faculty, staff, and students to implement the selected internationalization activities? Why?

Conceptual Framework

Interview Question #1

Interview Questions #2

A. Contextual Factors: (Q1)

What factors affect the selection of the internationalization strategies?

4. How do the internationalization strategies for your university align with MEXT’s internationalization policies on higher education? 5. Please list the important internationalization initiatives your university has been making to achieve its larger goals? What areas of internationalization are the highest priorities? Why?

8. How do you describe the internationalization efforts at your center/office in terms of reflecting on the policies on internationalization of higher education by MEXT? (Give examples, please.)

B. Internationalization Strategies: Rationale and Goals (Q1)

What strategy is selected to match the contextual factors?

1. What do you think internationalization means to your university? What are the ultimate goals of internationalization at your university? 2. How do you think internationalization fits in your university’s mission and agenda?


361

5. Please list the important internationalization initiatives your university has been taking to achieve its larger goals? What areas of internationalization are the highest priorities? Why?

C-1. Technology: Internationalization activities (Q2)

What internationalization activities have been selected for a selected internationalization strategy?

3. What decisions were made about the internationalization strategies to achieve your university’s ultimate goals? How were those decisions made? By whom? 5. Please list the important internationalization initiatives your university has been making to achieve its larger goals? What areas of internationalization do you think are the highest priorities are the highest priorities? Why?

2. In what specific internationalization initiatives has your center/office been involved? How do you think the specific internationalization initiatives have been contributing to the larger goals of internationalization of your university? How about the contribution to your university’s mission? 6. Do you recognize prominent progress in any other internationalization initiatives besides your center/office? If so, what are they?

C-2. Technology: Changing process of education and research (Q2)

How has teaching and research changed due to the internationalization activities?

3. What decisions were made about the internationalization strategies to achieve your university’s ultimate goals? How were those decisions made? By whom? 5. Please list the important internationalization initiatives your university has been making to achieve its larger goals? What areas of internationalization do you think are the highest priorities are the highest priorities? Why?

3. What has changed to implement the specific internationalization initiatives at your center/office? (e.g. institutional functions, administrative procedures, resource allocations, etc)

D-1. Administrative System: Organizational Structure (Q3)

How has the administrative system changed to be fit the selected internationalization

5. Please list the important internationalization initiatives your university has been making to achieve its larger goals? What areas of internationalization do you think are the highest priorities are the highest priorities? Why?


362

D-2. Administrative System: Management Process (Q3)

activities? 6. How has your university been implementing the internationalization initiatives? (e.g. change in institutional functions, administrative procedures, resource allocations, etc). Have you been involved in the implementation process? If so, how?


D-3. Administrative System: Participants (Q3)

6. How has your university been implementing the internationalization initiatives? (e.g. change in institutional functions, administrative procedures, resource allocations, etc). Have you been involved in the implementation process? If so, how?

4. How have you as the Director of Center/Office been involved in the process of internationalization? How have you been participating in the decision-making process regarding internationalization efforts at your university? How have you been participating in the implementation process of internationalization efforts? 7. What do you think have been driving internationalization progress at your university?

E. Success factors and Resistant Factors (Q1-3, why)

What are success factors and stumbling blocks?

7. How would you describe the progress of your university’s internationalization plan from the beginning until now: excellent, good, satisfactory, not so good? Could you give me specific examples of what you mean? 8. What do you think has been your university’s main successes and challenges/barriers with respect to the internationalization process? Could you give me specific examples of what you mean?

5. How would you describe the progress of the internationalization initiatives that your center/office has been involved in from the beginning of the establishment of the university internationalization plan until now: excellent, good, satisfactory, not so good? Give examples of what you mean. 7. What do you think has been driving internationalization progress at your university? 9. What do you think has been your university’s main successes and challenges /barriers with respect to the internationalization process? Could you give me specific examples of what you mean?

363

F. Promoting factors for future internationalization (Q1-3, why)

9. What do you think internationalization of your university will look like 10 years from now?

10. What do you think internationalization at your university will look like 10 years from now?

364

Appendix H: Invitation Letter for Interview

Yuki Watabe Educational Policy and Administration

330 Wulling Hall 86 Pleasant Street SE

Minneapolis, MN 55455 Cell: 612-229-2657 & E-mail: [email protected]

Date Dear : I am interested in interviewing you for my dissertation research project, “Organizational Internationalization of Universities in Japan: A Case Study of Three National University Corporations.” Due to globalization of a society and economy, the discourse about internationalizing higher education has been evolving. Internationalization had been perceived as a peripheral activity in higher education institutions; however, now it has become an essential institutional agenda. In Western Europe, the United States and Australia, the studies on internationalization efforts of individual universities have been increasing; however, the number of case studies of universities in Asian countries is increasing, but still limited. I believe that it is important to introduce internationalization efforts of Japanese universities globally. Since XX University has been promoting university-wide internationalization with a systemic approach, it is an important case of internationalization of a Japanese national university corporation to be described. Further reasons for selecting XX University for this study is that I obtained the consent for you to assist me to conduct this study from Professor/Associate Professor XX at XX. The purpose of my study is to explore how and why three national university corporations have been internationalizing by examining the configuration of organizational design, program strategies and contextual factors needed to develop internationally oriented universities. To write a qualitative case study, this project involves conducting one-on-one interviews. Your participation in an interview is voluntary and no individual names will be used in my dissertation. I have received use of Human Subjects in Research approval from the University of Minnesota, and I have been working with a team of four faculty members on my doctoral dissertation committee. Upon completion of my study, you will receive an executive summary report of my paper. The interview will take between 60 and 90 minutes. I would like to schedule one with you sometime from DATE to DATE when I am planning to stay in CITY. If you could take a time to be interviewed during this time, please e-mail me at [email protected] telling me when and where you are available to meet with me. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Yuki Watabe Graduate Student, Comparative and International Development Education Dept. of Educational Policy and Admin., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

365

平成 20年 X月 X日

教授･准教授･課長殿

ミネソタ大学教育政策行政学部

渡部由紀

[email protected]

国立大学法人の組織的国際化に関する研究へのご協力のお願い

謹啓いよいよご清栄のこととお喜び申し上げます。

近年、社会･経済のグローバル化に伴い、高等教育機関の国際化、とりわけ大学の国際化

が各国で論じられています。かつては周辺的な課題であった国際化は、近年大学において主

要な課題となっています。そのような中で、欧米豪諸国では、各大学の国際化の取り組みに

関する事例研究が盛んに行われています。一方でアジアの大学の事例研究は増えているもの

の限られており、今後、日本の大学の国際化の取り組みも世界に向けて発信されていく必要

があると思われます。

さて、現在私はミネソタ大学の教育政策行政学部国際教育学科の博士課程に在籍し、博士

論文、｢日本の大学の組織的な国際化：国立大学法人の事例研究（三事例）｣(仮題)に取り組

んでいます。本研究の目的は、国際的な大学になるために必要な組織設計、プログラム戦略、

状況要因の関係に着目し、３つの国立大学法人の国際化の取り組みを分析することで日本の

大学の国際化のダイナミズムを明らかにすることにあります。○○大学を事例として選んだ

理由は、国際戦略本部の設置をはじめ、組織的に全学的な国際化に取り組んでいると考えら

れること、そして現○○大学の○○（部署）の○○教授・準教授に研究協力を了解していた

だいたことによります。

本研究を進めるため、是非○○教授・准教授・課長にインタビューのご協力を頂きたく、

依頼の書簡を送らせて頂きました。インタビューは 1 時間から１時間半を予定しています。

平成 20年 X 月 X 日から X 月 X 日まで○○に滞在することを予定しています。誠に恐縮です

が、この期間にインタビューの時間を取って頂けるようでしたら、ご都合のいい時間を

[email protected]まで電子メールにてご連絡頂けますよう、よろしくお願い申し上げます。

なお、インタビューの承諾は任意なものであり、また博士論文に個人名があがることはあ

りません。本研究の実施に関しては、博士論文審査委員会に４名の教授から指導をいただい

ており、ミネソタ大学の研究審査機関の承認を受けています。また、本研究の成果に関して

は、後日、博士論文の要約をお送りします。ご多忙とは存じますが、本研究の趣旨をご理解

いただき、是非ともご協力をお願い申し上げます。

敬具

366

Appendix I: Consent Form for Interview

CONSENT FORM

Organizational Internationalization of University in Japan: A Qualitative Case Study of Three National University Corporations

You are invited to be in a research study of a qualitative multiple case study of internationalization of three national university corporations in Japan. You were selected as a possible participant because you work on the internationalization committee or at a department/center with international characteristics. We ask that you read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the study. This study is being conducted by: Yuki Watabe, a graduate student in the Department of Educational Policy and Administration, University of Minnesota, USA. Background Information: The purpose of this study is to explore how and why three national university corporations have been internationalizing by examining the relationship of organizational design, program strategies, and contextual factors needed to develop internationally oriented universities. More specifically, this study aims to answer the following research questions:

• How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their internationalization strategies? Why?

• How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their international programs/activities for the selected internationalization strategy? Why?

• How are three Japanese national university corporations different or similar in their administrative systems including organizational structures, management processes and participants to implement selected international activities? Why?

Procedures:

If you agree to be in this study, we would ask you to do the following things: You will be asked to answer the questions regarding internationalization of your university. An interview will be one-on-one, about 60-90 minutes and tape-recorded with your permission. Risks and Benefits of being in the Study:

The risk in this study is that of identification. Every possible effort will be taken to protect your identity. Only the researcher will have access to your name, which will be kept in a locked drawer. No names will be used in any report of this study, only codes or pseudonyms making it difficult to identify you. The tape will be stored in a locked drawer for two years. IRB Code # 0802E26801 Version Date: 04/30/2008

367

This study has no direct benefits. Participating in this study may help you review the current internationalization efforts of your university and chart future directions. Compensation: You will receive no payment. Confidentiality: The records of this study will be kept private. In any sort of report we might publish, I will not include any information that will make it possible to identify a subject. Research records will be stored securely and only the researcher will have access to the records. The tape recordings of interviews also will be stored securely for two years and only the researcher will have access to them. Voluntary Nature of the Study: Participation in this study is voluntary. Your decision whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with the University of Minnesota. If you decide to participate, you are free to not answer any question or withdraw at any time without affecting those relationships. Contacts and Questions: The researcher conducting this study is: Yuki Watabe. You may ask any questions you have now. If you have questions later, you are encouraged to contact her at 330 Wulling Hall, 86 Pleasant Street, SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612-229-2657, [email protected]. Her advisor is Dr. John J. Cogan. His contact information is as follows: phone number, 952-925-0656; e-mail address, [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study and would like to talk to someone other than the researcher(s), you are encouraged to contact the Research Subjects’ Advocate Line, D528 Mayo, 420 Delaware St. Southeast, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455; (612) 625-1650. You will be given a copy of this information to keep for your records. By participating in the study, the informed consent is applied.

IRB Code # 0802E26801 Version Date: 04/30/2008

368

同意書同意書同意書同意書

日本の大学の組織的な国際化：国立大学法人の事例研究（３事例）日本の大学の組織的な国際化：国立大学法人の事例研究（３事例）日本の大学の組織的な国際化：国立大学法人の事例研究（３事例）日本の大学の組織的な国際化：国立大学法人の事例研究（３事例）

ミネソタ大学教育政策行政学部の大学院生の渡部由紀と申します。現在、私は日本の国立大学法人

の国際化に関する事例研究（３大学）に取り組んでおり、国際化に関する委員会、部署、センター等

に関っていらっしゃる方に研究へのご協力をお願いしています。本研究にご協力をいただくに際しま

して、この同意書を読んでいただき、研究の趣旨をご理解いただければと思います。また、質問がご

ざいましたら、この研究への参加に同意いただく前にお尋ねいただきますようお願い申し上げます。

研究に関する情報研究に関する情報研究に関する情報研究に関する情報

この研究の目的は、国際的な大学になるために必要な組織設計、プログラム戦略、状況要因の関係

に着目し、３つの国立大学法人がなぜ、どのように国際化しているのかを調査することにあります。

具体的に述べれば、この研究は以下の問いに答えるものです。

１）国立大学法人３校における国際化戦略は、大学によってどのように異なるのか、または類似して

いるのか。それはなぜなのか。

２）国立大学法人３校における国際化戦略のための国際的なプログラム・活動は、大学によってどの

ように異なるのか、または類似しているのか。それはなぜなのか。

３）国立大学法人３校における国際的な活動を実行するための組織構成、マネージメントの過程、お

よび組織の構成員といった管理・運営のシステムは、大学によってどのように違うのか、または

類似しているのか。それはなぜなのか。

研究への協力について研究への協力について研究への協力について研究への協力について

この研究への協力に同意していただいた場合、次のことをお願いしたいと思います。

貴校の国際化についての質問に答えていただきます。インタビューは１時間から１時間半、一対一

で行います。また、貴方の承諾の上、テープリコーダーで録音します。

研究に協力するリスクと便益研究に協力するリスクと便益研究に協力するリスクと便益研究に協力するリスクと便益

この研究では、研究への協力者の身元判明のリスクを防ぐため、出来る限りの努力をします。協力

者の名前が載っている資料は、鍵のかかる引出しに保管され、研究者のみが利用します。この研究の

報告では、協力者の個人名を一切使用せず、コードまたは仮名を使うことで、身元の確認を難しくし

ます。また、インタビューを録音したテープは、鍵のかかる引出しに 2年間保管されます。

この研究への協力による直接的な便益はありません。しかしながら、この研究への協力が、貴校の

現在そして今後の国際化の取り組みについて考える機会となれば幸いです。

報酬報酬報酬報酬

この研究への協力に対する報酬はありません。


369

機密性機密性機密性機密性

この研究に関する記録は非公開となります。出版する全ての研究報告において、研究への協力者の

身元確認が可能な情報は、一切含まれません。調査記録は厳重に保管され、研究者のみがその記録を

利用できます。インタビューを録音したテープも 2 年間厳重に保管され、研究者のみが利用可能です。

研究の任意性研究の任意性研究の任意性研究の任意性

この研究への協力は任意によるものです。協力するか否かの決定は、貴方のミネソタ大学との現在

また今後の関係に影響を及ぼしません。また、協力すると決めた場合にも、ミネソタ大学との関係に

影響を及ぼすことなく、質問に答えないことも、協力を取り消すこともできます。

連絡と質問連絡と質問連絡と質問連絡と質問

この研究の研究者は渡部由紀です。質問がありましたら、その場で本人に聞いてください。後に質

問がある際には、渡部由紀（住所：330 Wulling Hall, Educational Policy and Administration, 86 Pleasant

Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA、電話：612-229-2657、電子メール：[email protected].）まで

ご連絡下さい。

また、渡部由紀のアドバイザーはジョン・コーガン博士(Dr. John J.Cogan)です。コーガン博士の連

絡先は電話： 952-925-0656、電子メール：[email protected].です。

この研究に関して質問または懸念があり、研究者以外の者と話したい場合、研究対象者保護ライン

(the Research Subjects’ Advocate Line：住所：D528 Mayo, 420 Delaware St. Southeast, Minneapolis,

Minnesota 55455、電話：612-625-1650)にご連絡下さい。

貴方の記録としてこの情報のコピーをお渡しします。貴方の記録としてこの情報のコピーをお渡しします。貴方の記録としてこの情報のコピーをお渡しします。貴方の記録としてこの情報のコピーをお渡しします。

研究にご協力頂くことで、この同意書の内容をご理解頂いたと理解いたします。
